


Book 1: Freedom

by crescentdescent



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Biphobia, Drug Use, Homophobia, M/M, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, bad ptsd on Shiro's part, earthbender hunk, firebender keith, get ready for the angst and the fluff my friends, lots of cussing, lots of sass, metalbender shiro, nonbender holts, waterbender lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-08-09 11:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 40,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7799386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crescentdescent/pseuds/crescentdescent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Legend of Korra universe crossed over with Voltron Legendary Defender. Book 1 revolves around Lance, a waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe who runs away from home to Republic City for hidden reasons. There, he meets Hunk (the earthbender engineer), Pidge (the nonbending child-genius), Shiro (deputy of the city police), Keith (pro-motorcyclist and rival??), and the unknown firebender with a Red Lion mask. When the Galra and family matters get mixed into play, things really start to go downhill.<br/>Like how every Avatar season starts with a single-word book title, so will this series. The overarching theme of this book will be "freedom."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Republic City

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction so if I screw things up, cut me some slack plz  
> Updates are every saturday unless said otherwise

 

“ _Ugh_ … I think I’m going to be sick.”

Lance glanced at the passenger seated next to him. While the man was large and bulky; while he had dark earthy skin, his face was green from motion sickness.

“ _Oh God_.” The man snatched the paper bag next to Lance—the bag that held his bean-bun dinner. The bean-bun dinner _he_ paid for with what little cash he had left.

“Dude!”

“Sorry!” The man mumbled through his hand-covered mouth as he bolted to the train cart’s bathroom.

Lance watched miserably as his dinner was stolen away by the unknown stranger. What a fantastic way to start a long train ride.

He sighed. It was already hard enough to run away from home with so little, and so early in the morning, too. But the last thing he ever wanted to do was crawl all the way back home. How pathetic; he’d rather die than do something as lowly as _that_. Too exhausted to hunt down the big man, he leaned back into his chair, slowly drifting to sleep.

________

“..ey! Hey! Dude, wake up!”

“What..?”

Lance groggily opened his eyes and glanced at the hand that had shaken him awake. The passenger he had helped early was staring at him.

“You…! You’re the one who ran off with _my_ dinner!”

“Shhhhhhh-“The man brought his finger to Lance’s lips. “Sorry, man, for waking you up like this—and stealing your dinner, but you _need_ to check this out.” The big man pointed his finger outside the train window. Lance jolted awake, jumping to his feet and climbing up the seats across the train. He kneeled on the cushion, pressing his hands (and face) against the window.

The view was breathtaking. Across the expanse of ocean that glistened from the afternoon sun was a cityscape. Towering skyscrapers of glass and metal reflected against the water surrounding it. Lance whistled. “Wow…”

“Pretty neat, isn’t it?” The large man seated himself next to Lance.

Lance, realizing his reaction was much like a child, scrambled to sit down on his seat. His face grew hot from embarrassment. “It’s whatever…” He muttered.

The man laughed. “It’s cool—I was like that too when I first came to Republic City.”

“And when was that?”

“When I was, like…Five.”

Lance groaned as he covered his face. How uncool of him.

The man laughed again. “Is this your first time coming here?”

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“Well…” The man pointed at Lance’s obviously blue outfit. His clothes were of the traditional southern water tribe garb: layers of blue cloth topped off with a necklace of rectangular beads, fur belt, and boots. “Your fashion is pretty…traditional. Really gave it away.” Lance swallowed. _Of course._

Lance pointed his eyes towards the man’s more modern, yellow-green themed outfit. “And I’m guessing that you’re from the Earth Kingdom.”

The man brought out his hand. “The name’s Hunk.”

“Lance.” They shook hands.

The intercom crackled once more. “ _This is your conductor speaking. We have arrived at Central Station in Republic City. Please check to make sure you have all your belongings, and exit through the back door of your train cart.”_ The train doors opened, and a wave of noise flooded into the area. The subway station was bustling as passengers moved in and out of the trains.

As Lance slung his bag over his back, Hunk tapped his shoulder.

“Hey, Lance. Do you want to come with me to my uncle’s noodle shop for dinner? My treat.”

“Huh? Are you flirting with me?”

Hunk rolled his eyes. “No, Lance. It’s just that you really saved me on the train when I got the butterflies.” Hunk shivered as he remembered riding in the shaky train cart. He smiled. “I owe you one.”

“Huh.” Lance said thoughtfully. He grinned. “Well, you did ruin my dinner with your vomit. Lead the way!”

__

“Whoa!”

Lance collapsed on the ground. Before him was a red, shining motorcycle. Jet-black tire streaks trailed behind its wheels. The driver, leaning his motorcycle to the side, yanked off his helmet. He whipped his hair, sending beads of sweat flying, and Lance had a front-row seat of it all.

_Hot damn._

Lance stared, mouth open. The driver had black mullet, and while his long locks of hair hid a large portion of his face, it was no secret that he was _hot._ The man ran his hand through his front bangs, pulling them back. Porcelain white skin, dark arching eyebrows, sharp jawline, ruby-red eyes… Lance stared in awe, his face flushed. How could a man far beautiful than any girl exist?

But of course that dream-like fantasy was shattered in an instant.

“What the fuck were you even thinking!?”

Lance flinched, breaking free from his trance. The driver was glaring down at him, his red eyes burning with anger. Lance’s face grew redder as his own anger built up.

“What do you mean?” He retorted.

“I mean that you literally fucking walked right in front of me while I was driving!”

Lance looked from side to side at his surroundings. People stopped to spectate, murmuring and pointing between him and the driver. Hunk watched from the other side of the street, his face contorted with fear and worry. Lance looked away, embarrassed.

“Sorry…”

“’Sorry’ doesn’t cut it. How could you do something as idiotic as cross the street without looking both ways? I don’t have the time _or_ cash to worry about cleaning after your bullshit or repairing my ride.”

 “Woahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoah—hold up, you guys.” Hunk cut in between Lance and the driver. He turned to the driver. “I’m sorry about my friend. He’s new to the city life, so…”

The driver scoffed, locking his helmet into place impatiently. “Make sure to keep an eye”—he pointed at Lance—“on this country bumpkin next time.”

“ _Country bumpkin?!_ Well I’ll show you what this _country bumpkin_ can do when he beats your mullet-ridden ass!”

Hunk hurriedly grabbed Lance under the arms, successfully holding him back despite his struggling.

And the driver was gone.

 

__

 

“Wow, Lance,” Hunk said as he gently placed a cup of tea in front of Lance. “Just…wow.”

Lance nodded gratefully to Hunk’s uncle, the shop owner, before angrily chugging down the tea. “That asshole!” He rasped as he slammed the cup onto the table. “Acting all high and mighty…”

Hunk shrugged. “He _is_ right when he said that you walked right in front of him. That’s the number one rule they teach to all kids in the city: never, ever walk in front of a street without looking both ways. Or else”—he clasped his hands together in a loud clap. “Didn’t you learn that when you were younger?”

Lance frowned. There were never bustling streets full of trucks, cars and pedestrians back at home. “No…”

Hunk gave a forgiving smile. “Well, it’s okay, since it’s your first time in Republic City. But seriously though, be careful next time. I thought I was going to have a heart attack and I literally only talked to you for like, ten minutes.” He clutched his chest. “I don’t need that kind of stress in my life right now.”

“Why? Things are busy for you?”

Hunk nodded. “Yeah. I guess you could say I’m studying abroad more or less. A pair of engineers—father and son—came by to Ba Sing Se to visit one of their factory branches or something. Their vehicle broke down in the middle of the street—by the way, you do _not_ want to have a broken-down car in the middle of a street in Ba Sing Se because the road rage is absolutely _unreal_ and—“

“Hunk.”

“Oh, right. Got off track. Sorry. Anyway, I ended up fixing the engine of their car, even though I’ve never really worked with engines as fine as _those_ before, and then I must’ve done a pretty good job because they offered to have me do some internship here in Republic City. I figured it’d be a good opportunity to, y’know, get a better education, and—“he pointed to the shop owner who was kneading dough behind the counter—“to help out in the family business on the side.”

Lance hummed. “Impressive.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what about you?”

“Huh?”

“What’s your reason for coming to the big city?”

“Uh-“ Lance stuttered. “Well, um…For the adventure! The South Pole can get really boring sometimes, being around nothing but piles and piles of snow. And old-fashioned grannies. I kind of figured that it was my time to leave the bird’s nest. Snow gets boring, and nothing new ever comes up, so…”

Hunk looked unconvinced, but shrugged. “How old are you?” He asked, switching topics.

“Eighteen. You?”

Hunk grinned. “Eighteen.” He raised his fist.

Lance bumped his knuckles against Hunk’s. “Nice.”

__

“Are you sure you know which way to go?” Hunk called out to Lance, who already stepped foot into the dark street.

Lance waved his hand dismissively. “Of course I do. How do you think I was able to get myself around in a barren ice-land in the middle of nowhere?”

“I don’t know…It’s getting pretty dark out. Are you sure you don’t want to just shack in with my family for the night? I’m sure Uncle wouldn’t mind.”

Lance shook his head. “Nono, I can’t do that. I’ll just crash at a nearby hotel or something.”

Hunk sighed. “Well, if you insist…Have a good night.”

“You too, man. Thanks for everything.”

“My pleasure. Don’t forget to stop by if you ever want to eat noodles or hang out.”

But Lance had already blended into the dimly lit streets.

Hunk turned, stepping back into the noodle shop. His uncle was in the middle of wiping down the tables with a wet rag. He lifted his head as he heard the front door bell ring as Hunk entered.

“Back so soon? I thought you were going to guide your Water Tribe friend to one of the neighboring hotels.”

“No. Lance said that he knew how to get his way around.”

“Which way did he take?”

“Left.”

Hunk’s uncle let out a heavy sigh. “For someone who insisted he knew which way to go, he made a grave mistake.”

“Huh?”

“Taking the left way means heading straight into Galra territory.”

“What?!” Hunk gasped. “You mean that crazy-strong gang? The gang that literally owns half the city’s turf? You’ve got to be kidding me…”

The old man shook his head, clicking his tongue. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Galra hadn’t jumped him by now. With a clueless, lanky boy like him, he would be an easy target.”

“Oh, no…”

__

“Oh, no…” Lance breathed as he pressed himself against the wall. Three men had cornered him in the alley, all with sinister grins that gleamed in the dark.

Swallowing hard, Lance pulled his cheeks into a stiff smile. “So, boys…” He started off casually. “I don’t know what the issue is, but can I pass through? Because it’s getting late and I kinda need to--” He placed his hand onto the shoulder of one of the men. The man gripped his hand, twisting his arm. Lance fell to his knees, his arm locked behind his back. Another man—supposedly the leader of the trio--kneeled down to look directly at Lance’s eyes.

“Oh _sure_ , we’ll let you pass through our turf, but you’ll need to pay the toll fee first.”

“What?! But I need that money! I’m screwed if I’m cashless!”

“So? That is not our problem. We Galra own this territory, and you _will_ abide to our rules.” The man spat on the ground.

Lance clenched his teeth. How could he get out of this mess? But he could already feel the third man pat around his body, feeling for the pouch of what little money he had left that was stowed away into his pocket.

“Hey—!”

Suddenly, a flash of fiery red flew past, nearly hitting them. Everyone dodged.

“What?!” The leader spat, looking above.

On the roof of the building was what seemed to be a man. His face was covered by none more than the mask of a red lion, followed by a red hood around his head and bandana around his neck.

“Release him.” The Red Lion growled.

The trio leader cackled in amusement. “Make me,” he sneered.

The Red Lion pumped his fist again, firing rapid bullets of flame down to the ground. The Galra members dispersed, releasing Lance in the process. Lance screeched as a flame singed part of his clothing. “Holy shit!”

The trio positioned themselves into fighting stance. The earthbender of the three smashed his foot into the ground, levitating parts of the road from beneath. With a harsh kick, he sent the pieces flying towards the Red Lion.

The Red Lion dodged with ease, swiftly leaping into the air. Foot first, he nimbly jumped onto the incoming rocks, narrowing the distance between him and his foes.

“Zen!” The leader hissed.

“Understood.” The Galra faced the nearby fire hydrant. With raised arms, the ground rumbled as a surge of water sent the hydrant flying. “Let’s see if he’ll be able to move through this!” He swung his arms forward, sending a spiral of water towards the red lion.

Before the water could reach the man, it suddenly froze mid-air.

“What?!” The Galra turned to see Lance had turned the mass of water into ice.

Lance clicked his tongue. “I can’t _believe_ you guys forgot that I’m still here! Such a shame. And here I was, excited to show you my _cool_ waterbending moves.” He snickered at his own shameless pun.

The trio leader snarled, and, whipping his fist back, fired a barrage of flame in Lance’s direction. Lance, unfreezing the ice from the hydrant, enveloped the water into a shield that easily extinguished the fire.

From inside his water bubble, he mockingly stuck out his tongue. “You missed!” He teased.

As the distracted leader reeled back to blow another stream of fire, the Red Lion kicked his face into the cement. He grinded his foot into the Galra’s cheek. “How pathetic,” he mumbled through his bandana.

“Sendak!” The earthbending Galra lifted the ground in attempt to send the Red Lion flying. The man stepped off of Sendak, using the rock as a boost to send himself soaring into the air. Clenching his fist, the Red Lion ignited a flame-like sword, and sliced the rock with a quick swing in the wrist. With the two halves of rock floating in the air, the Red Lion did a split as he kicked them into the two other Galra lackies (Lance winced at the painful extent of flexibility the man had with a soft “ooh”). The Galra fell back from the impact, crashing hard into the road.

Landing on his feet, the Red Lion brought his flame sword down to the ground, close to Sendak’s face. The sweat on the Galra’s face and neck glowed, and his eyes glistened with fear.

“Let me catch you doing shit again,” the Lion hissed, “and you can kiss your shitty life goodbye—“

“Lance!”

Everyone flinched as they caught sight of the teddy bear of a man racing down the street. Behind him followed men in metallic uniforms. _The cops._

“Fuck!” The one named Zen rose from the ground, shooting water to grab Sendak by the ankle. Clutching his leader in his arms, he turned to his earthbending comrad. “Zartol! Get us out of here!”

The bigger Galra grunted, jumping to his feet. Bringing his arms back, Zartol raised a platform from the ground, carrying Zen and Sendak along with him. After a quick turn around the corner, the three entered into the vehicle they had come from.

“Shit! They’re getting away!” Lance scrambled towards the vehicle, but his legs failed to keep up with the car’s accelerating speed. The vehicle vanished into the night, the criminals escaping with it. Lance brought his hand onto his forehead. “Fuck…”

Suddenly, large arms were wrapped around him from behind. “Lance!” Hunk cried, squeezing Lance so hard that he gasped for air. “I was so worried! Dude, I am _so_ sorry. It’s been so long since I’ve been in Republic City that I completely forgot to warn you about those gangs!”

Lance freed himself from his friend’s grip, dusting the remains of rock from his clothes. “Don’t worry about it, Hunk. It’s not your fault.” He laughed awkwardly. “I probably should’ve just been honest and said I had no idea where the hell I was going.”

“The most important thing is that you are safe.” A tall man came to Lance’s side. Despite Lance’s tall height, he was _incomparable_ to the buff officer beside him. The officer was not stout as Hunk, but was clearly rippling with muscle under his metallic armor. The man, from a distance, seemed intimidating. Not only was his stature superhuman, but he had a large scar across him face—perhaps a wound from service? From underneath his police cap and tuft of white hair, he glanced down at Lance. A surprisingly soft smile spread across his lips. “I’m glad we made it in time.”

“I-I-“ Lance stuttered, his face red. How could a man be so _flawless_. Not only did he meet a hot biker (despite him being a total _ass_ ), he met yet _another_ work of God.

The officer pulled out his hand. “Deputy Takashi Shirogane at your service. Though I prefer to be called ‘Shiro’—my name is too much of a mouthful.” He gave a shy chuckle.

Lance nervously smiled back, gripping Shiro’s hand. However, he paused: the hand was cold. Empty. There was no solid material within the hand. Shiro must have detected his shock, for he gently pulled back his hand. Awkwardness spread between the two.

“Anyway, we’ll take on the investigation from here. The Galra have been up to no good, as always. You best avoid traveling during the night so you won’t have to face off danger like that again.” He gave Lance a worried, serious look. “You really were incredibly lucky today, especially for being alone.”

“W-what?!” Lance protested. “But there was that guy! That guy with the red lion mask! How he was all”—Lance flailed his arms sloppily in a kung-fu like movement—“ _whoosh_ and _whoosh_!”

Hunk and Shiro looked genuinely confused.

“Uh…what?” Hunk said.

Lance was speechless. Was it…all a dream?

Hunk grabbed Lance by the shoulder. “Hey, man…It’s been a stressful day. How about we call it a night? You can stay at my place.”

Shiro nodded in agreement. “The Metalbending Police Force will keep you updated on this investigation.”

“B-b-b-but-“Lance sputtered as Hunk gently pushed him to his uncle’s restaurant. The world spun around him, his head pounding while processing the events from moments before.

_Who the hell was the Red Lion?_

 


	2. The Idiot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance questions the existence of the Red Lion, but brushes his doubts off when he hangs out with Team Voltron for the day. The Galra try to screw things up like Team Rocket again.

“Whew,” Lance whistled as he wiped the sweat off his brow. The lunchtime rush was finally over. He set aside the rag he used to wipe the table and plopped down into the seat beside him.

It has been three days since the day he first arrived to Republic City. Or rather, three days since the night he met the Red Lion.

Ever since the incident, Hunk and his uncle kindly welcomed him to stay in a vacant room in the floor above the noodle shop. As long as he worked around the restaurant, he was free to stay. Lance smiled; at least running out of necessities was no longer an issue on his list. Plus, he could have extra cash on the side.

But the Red Lion…

Lance shook his head in confusion. While he took plenty of pride in his own waterbending skills, he was shocked to find someone who was so…compatible to his skill. Sure it was rusty, since it was the first time they ever met, but it was something unforgettable. It was an _experience._ He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the front door bell ring.

“Hey, Lance!” Hunk walked through the door. “You’re on break, right?”

“Yeah, at least for now.”

“Come with me. Shiro said I could bring you with me to Bayard Enterprises?”

“Baya-what?”

Hunk sighed. “You know? Bayard Enterprises? The company that makes more than half the cars driving in this world right now? The place where I work at?”

“Oooohhhh, right. Of course.” Back in the Southern Water Tribe, seeing trade ships labeled in block letters “BAYARD ENTERPRISES” wasn’t exactly uncommon, though Lance didn’t know that the company specialized in more than just giant boats. While the Tribe was relatively self-reliant, many members did participate in bartering things like fish and skins for resources outside of the snowy land.

Lance stood up from his seat and glanced at the restaurant owner behind the counter. Hunk’s uncle nodded in approval as he mouthed a silent ” _go._ ”

Lance turned to Hunk. “Okay then, let’s head out.”

 

The building to the warehouse was quite something, Lance marveled. The brick building was dressed in several windows, and showed rows and rows of beams from the roof. Even from a distance, a variety of loud sounds could be heard: the clanging of dented metal and the fiery sizzle of melted iron.  At the front of the warehouse stood Shiro, who, by his side, were two other males.

“Hunk! Lance!” Shiro beckoned as he noticed them approaching the entrance. He was no longer covered in heavy-suited armor of his officer uniform that once enveloped his entire body; instead, he wore a casual-formal sleeveless button-up, his arms covered with dark grey sleeves, and his hands clothed with black gloves. As hot as Shiro looked in his outside-of-work clothing, Lance couldn’t help but be wary that Shiro’s outfit choice was unquestionably arranged to conceal a large majority of his metallic, self-bent prosthetic.

“Lance, meet Mr. Holt, founder of Bayard Enterprises.” Shiro stepped aside as he introduced his companions. “And this guy over here is his son, Matt, a close friend of mine.” Lance moved forward to shake hands with the founder and son.

“These are the ‘father and son’ engineer guys that I met at Ba Sing Se,” Hunk whispered to Lance. Lance mouthed a silent _oh_.

 “Shiro told us about how you’re new here,” Matt smiled as he pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose. “It’s unfortunate that you had such a poor experience from nights before,” he added apologetically.

Lance bowed his head, embarrassed. “Thank you, though you really didn’t have to invite me…”

Mr. Holt shook his head. “No, no, this is out of our own will-”

“Dad!”

A small body bolted through, tiny arms embracing Mr. Holt.

“Ah, Pidge! Just in time”—he briefly embraced the child before patting their head. “This is my second child, Pidge. Pidge, this is Lance, an immigrant from the Southern Water Tribe.”

Lance gapped at how shocking similar Matt and Pidge were to each other: they both had the same, short, frizzy brown hair, as well as glasses. Anyone would be able to tell immediately that they were siblings.

Pidge nodded at Lance. “Nice to meet you,” they said hurriedly before turning back to their father. “Dad! Keith came back to get his bike checked up.”

Mr. Holt’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s unexpected. It’s a month too soon for him to have it examined. What happened?”

Pidge shrugged. “Dunno. He said that some idiot decided to cross the road and he almost got in an accident—“

“It’s YOU!” Lance yelled as he pointed to the motorcyclist he had run into days before. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” the driver shot back, his face scrunching in disgust.

Pidge gasped, covering their mouth to suppress their laughter. “ _You_ were the ‘idiot’?”

Lance glared down at Pidge before directing his gaze at Keith. The corner of his mouth hooked into a crooked smile as he began to crack his knuckles. “You don’t know how glad I am to finally meet you so that I can beat your stupid face in.”

Keith tightened the finger-less glove around his wrist. “You won’t be saying that when I kick your ass for ruining my ride’s tires-“

“Okay, break it up, you two.” Shiro intervened between the two boys. “We aren’t going to fight here, nor are we going to fight anywhere. Calm down and pull yourselves together.”

“It’s Shiro’s ‘dad voice.’ Guaranteed to work 100-percent of the time,” Pidge whispered to Hunk.

Hunk raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“See.” Pidge pointed to Lance and Keith, both of whom were facing away from each other with their arms crossed. While they both seethed in sullen silence, they both were obedient to Shiro’s order.

“Wow,” Hunk whispered back, Pidge grinning widely at his impressed reaction.

Shiro clapped his hands together. “Now let’s properly introduce ourselves to one another, shall we?” He shifted his gaze to his right. “Keith, you first.”

Sighing, Keith turned to face Lance, bringing out his hand. “Keith,” he said bluntly.

“Lance,” Lance replied dryly, keeping his arms crossed to himself and ignoring the hand in front. Keith drew back his hand.

“Keith Kogane is a regular here,” Matt piped from the back. “He’s one of our best promoters for our products since he’s a talented motorcyclist and driver.”

Lance scoffed in disbelief. “I bet I could do better. I was _born_ to drive these things.”

“What makes you think you’re a better driver than me?” Keith intervened.

“Well, back at home, I was in charge of taking care of the polar bear dogs, and let me tell you, if I can handle beasts like _those_ , I can handle anything.”

Keith clicked his tongue. “Yeah, sure. You keep telling yourself that.” He took the keys dangling from Pidge’s fingers as he headed towards his ride.

Lance, forgetting that Hunk, the Holts, and Shiro all had their eyes on him, unashamedly flashed a middle finger in Keith’s direction.

__

“So what is it that you exactly do here..?” Lance asked as Hunk and Pidge guided him throughout the warehouse. Keith, with his motorcycle and his stupid mullet hair, had left moments before. While Lance’s vulgar action caused Shiro to scold and bat his head, the Holts held back their snickers.

Now, Shiro, Mr. Holt and Matt were engrossed in an engaging conversation towards the warehouse’s entrance.  Meanwhile, Hunk and Pidge offered to tour Lance around the facility.

Hunk looked over his shoulder. “Well, since I’m an intern, I help out the Holts by tinkering some nuts and bolts to make motors more efficient.” He answered. “I work under Matt and Pidge anyway—they’re both in charge of most of the engineering projects around here.”

“What?!” Lance stared at Matt, who was towards the front of the warehouse speaking with Shiro, and shifted his gaze to Pidge. “B-But they’re only _kids_!”

“Yeah, but Matt is going to be the successor of the company”—Hunk pointed down at Pidge—“And Pidge is a prodigy. A genius inventor.”

Pidge slid their glasses up with their pointer finger. “I wouldn’t call myself a genius; Matt is still a lot smarter than me. But I do know a thing or two about inventing.” They shrugged and smiled. “Hunk helped out a lot in doing some of the more physically-demanding parts of our work. Earthbending really comes in handy sometimes. Speaking of which,” they turned to Lance, “are you a waterbender?”

 “Why yes I am!” Lance flashed a toothy grin that made them cringe. “Back at home, I was called a waterbending master!”  He dramatically posed in a battle position, making a _whoosh_ sound with his mouth as he pretended to waterbend with self-produced sound effects. “Perhaps my charismatic chi vibes gave it away?”

Pidge rolled their eyes. “No, stupid. Your obviously Southern Water Tribal outfit has more charisma than your own self.”

Lance muttered “Cold,” before moving his eyes to Hunk. “But Hunk—you’re an earthbender? Wow! Can you bend that piece of metal over there or something?”

Hunk shook his head. “Sorry…I mean, I can earthbend, but I don’t metalbend. I can’t, actually.”

Lance raised his eyebrows. “You can’t metalbend? How come? I thought most earthbenders could metalbend…” He trailed off in confusion.

“Well…I can’t. Maybe it’s a genetic thing or something, I don’t know. There’s just something wrong with me and I really can’t metalbend.”

Lance hummed. “You know, you might not believe me when I say this, but I think I know how you feel.”

Hunk looked surprised. “…Really..?”

Lance smiled empathetically. “Yeah. Really.”

While Hunk had the urge to ask Lance to elaborate, upon noticing the tinge of sadness in Lance’s tone, he figured that asking would be too much. Instead, he directed his attention to Lance’s shirt. “What happened to your shirt? Did you burn yourself last night or something?” He raised an eyebrow. “I guess I didn’t notice it before because you always wear the restaurant waiter uniform nowadays…

“What?” Lance glanced over his shoulder. “I never burned my clothes—“

Black clashed against blue. While the burn mark was small, the fabric was singed with holes.

Holes that were made by a certain firebender nights before.

 

__

 

Nighttime had fallen. While the lights towards the center of the city flared brightly, they began to wane in streets further and further away. The streetlights dim, Lance quietly leaped to the ground, landing gracefully with a sound no louder than a _pat_.  He glanced from side to side; while it was definitely not his first time sneaking out in the middle of the night, it was much different doing so in the city than in the rural countryside. Now equip with a proper water skin tied to his waist, he disappeared into the shadows.

Meeting the Red Lion was no dream; the burn mark on his clothes was more than enough proof of the Lion’s existence. Slinking through the alleyways, Lance quickly became entangled into the loops and knots of the city streets.

What he didn’t think through was how easily he could get lost. At first, Lance placed mental landmarks to recall where he had gone, but soon even those faded away. The moon was high—and he officially got himself lost.

Lance slowly sank to the side of a wall. Facepalming himself, he muttered, “God, I’m such a fucking idiot…”

“Of course you are.”

Lance jolted up as he was face to face with a Galra. _Zen_.

The waterbending Galra curled his mouth into a smile. “You never learn, do you, wondering like a stupid, aimless dog? But who am I to complain?” He uncapped the water skin that was clung to his thigh, drawing the water from inside like a snake. “I was looking for you anyway.” He licked his lip.

 _The Galra is a ruthless mafia group. They do all kinds of criminal activity around the city: drug trade, loan sharking, robbery, you name it._ Pidge had informed Lance during their time at the warehouse, and their words echoed endlessly in his head. _And what’s more…_

Lance backed away slowly, legs trembling.

 _They’re absolutely ruthless_.

With a single swipe, Zen fired the stream of water in a furry of icicle bullets. Shrieking, Lance skidded to the ground, uncapped his own water skin, and quickly formed a miniature water shield.

“ _You!_ ” Zen regathered his icicles to the palm of his hand, and speared them again at Lance. “You humiliated the Galra!”

Lance spun around, narrowly dodging the sharp ray of ice. “Woah!”

“You humiliated my master!” Zen spat as he fired again.

With each blow of ice, Zen’s accuracy increased exponentially. Lance struggled to keep track of the Galra’s speed, leaving him to choice but to form a weak gimbal of water around his radius. In the midst of the icicle barrage, Lance opened his eyes to see Zen running towards him, his bony fingers laced with ice claws.

“ _And_ —“the Galra hissed, his make-shift claws ready to tear Lance apart—“you humiliated _ME_!”

 In a final resort of defense, Lance used the remainder of his water to shove Zen away. While the move got the job done, all his water disappeared into the cemented ground, gone forever. His water skin had not even a drop left inside. He watched in despair as Zen began to rise. _I’m so fucked._

Laughter. Laughter was coming from the Galra. Lance watched in horror as Zen slowly stood up with a shining knife in his hand. _I don’t want to do this._

“If I can’t kill you with water,” he said, “then I can at least kill you with my own hands!”

Lance braced himself, curling into a defensive position. However, his hand was raised, ready to do the unforgivable. _I can’t-_

 _Clang_! The clash of metal on metal echoed in the alley.

Lance looked up. In front of him was a figure dressed in dark red—a dark violet in the blue moonlight. _The Red Lion_.

With his own knife grinding against that of Zen, the Red Lion swiftly kicked the Galra in the stomach, sending him flying into the ground. Zen’s knife skidded away into the darkness.

The Red Lion turned to look down at Lance. Even though the man’s face was covered, Lance knew that there must have been some expression of annoyance. “What are you doing?” His curt voice still cut deep despite its muffled state.

Lance swallowed before pulling himself back to his feet. He gazed at the pitch-black eyes of the mask. “I…I just wanted to confirm something.”

“Confirm what?”

“Confirm that you were real.”

A soft sound of amusement came from the mask. “Was seeing me again worth so much that you were willing to risk your life right then and there?”

In contradiction to his typical joking self, Lance did not crack a smile. “Yes,” he replied bluntly.

The laughter stopped. The Lion looked away. “Well, sorry to disappoint you, but you’ve just wasted your time.”

“No, I didn’t.” Lance protested. “I wanted to see you again. And now, I…I want to see you more.”

The Red Lion cocked his head, seemingly embarrassed. “Are you serious?” He breathed out.

“Does it look like I’m joking-“

Lance cut himself off. The sound of police sirens wailing could be heard in the distance. The volume was increasing at a rapid rate, too, and shouts could be heard as well. Stomps became louder and louder. Lance flashed a look of panic at the masked man. _Oh, shit…_

“Hold it right there!” Metalbending policemen illuminated the dark alleyway with several flashlights. They were in fighting position, cords of metal riling from the sleeves of their uniform.

“Shit!” The Red Lion hissed, blocking the bright light from his eyes with one arm.  He turned away, using one leg to elevate himself into the air. Fire spewed from the bottom of his foot.

“Stop!” Shiro yelled, diving into the scene. With his human arm, he ejected a line of cable towards the man. Swirling, the Red Lion used his flames to throw off the cord, narrowly avoiding capture.

Lance stared, mouth opened, trying to process the rapid speed of events flashing before him. While he watched the Red Lion ascend into the air in flames, he saw a glint of metal fall and land on the ground with a small clatter. The Red Lion reached for the object, but quickly drew his hand back to avoid another incoming cord. Scrambling across the ground, Lance dove for the object instead.

It was the knife that the Lion had sheathed in his back pocket from the fight before.

Sliding the knife into his fur belt, Lance rose to find Shiro running towards him. The officer’s eyes were glazed with both worry and fear.

“Follow him,” he ordered to his subordinates, who promptly fired their cords into nearby walls, propelling themselves into the night sky after the Red Lion. Meanwhile, Shiro grabbed Lance by the shoulders. “Lance, what in the world were you thinking? Was one near-death experience not enough for you?”

“I-I…” Lance trailed, fumbling for an excuse. “I-I was helping track down the Galra!”

Shiro was stunned. “What?”

While it wasn’t the truth, the fabricated lie was the most realistic option.

“I said that I was helping track down the Galra.” Lance repeated, now with more confidence. “I figured that if I used myself as bait, then at least one of the Galra would come out.” He wore his classic, arrogant smirk in hopes to sound more convincing.

“Lance,” Shiro said sternly. “I know that you wanted to help in the investigation—I know, because I was like that too when I was your age. But to put your life on the line when you are only a civilian will help no one but the enemy. The amount of luck you’ve had in the past _week_ is enough to qualify as a miracle.”

Lance looked down at his feet, hanging his head in feigned remorse. “I’m sorry. I…I should’ve been more careful.” He _did_ feel bad for tricking Shiro like this, but…

 _“Deputy Shirogane,”_ Shiro’s walkie-talkie interrupted. _“We have lost track of the unidentified firebender.”_

“He was probably another Galra. We’ll continue the search tomorrow. Officer Chang and his men are currently arresting the Galra waterbender that attacked a civilian a few nights ago; we’ll need to complete a report and send it Chief as quickly as possible. Let’s regroup for now.”

_“Yes, sir.”_

Shiro lowered the volume of his speaker. “Whatever the case, we’ll need to have more patrols in this area to prevent incidents like this from happening a third time. Maybe even place a curfew.” He pinched Lance’s nose, causing the boy to wince from the sudden sting.

“Ow!”

“You should go home. I trust your judgement that you will not repeat this mistake again.” Shiro said, his fatherly tone resurfacing. He retracted the loose cords from under his armor with the flick of his wrist. “The next time this happens, I won’t treat you like an adult: I really _will_ contact your parents, one way or another.”

“H-hey! No need to do that!” Lance said nervously, waving his hands. “I promise I’ll be good!”

Shiro chuckled as he crossed his arms. “I’m sure you will.”

__

“Honestly, Lance. Getting woken up in the middle of the night like this…”

“Sorry, Hunk. I won’t do it again.”

“You better not.” Hunk yawned loudly, stretching as he headed for the door. “I tend to be a nice guy, but I’m like a sleeping bear. You _don’t_ want to wake me up.” He turned the door knob. “I’m too tired to get upset. I’m clocking out.”

“G’night,” Lance called as the door shut.

Plopping onto his bed, Lance reached behind his back, gripping the handle of the knife he had hidden earlier. He carefully drew it out.

Lance might’ve been raised in the relatively isolated Water Tribe in the South, but he knew what Fire Nation things were when he saw them. The knife had a grip in the shade of bloody red, and was adorned what seemed like gold at the cross-guard.  Its pommel located at the butt of the grip was shaped like the golden Fire Nation emblem. The slightly-curved blade had an odd obsidian grey color in contrast to the typical silver color of most knives.

“Wow. It’s so weird, just like him,” Lance murmured in amusement. He carefully wrapped the knife in cloth. Taking the bundled knife, he placed it inside his sack that leaned against the leg of his bed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, loving thanks to my own team voltron (including space mom sexualinnewendoswas and space dad scorpionyx9621 on tumblr).  
> Honestly feel the most stressful emotions in my gut right now (squad mom assured me that it's normal for the first few chapters) but good g o d.


	3. Red vs. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance tries to one-up Keith in a motorcycle race (while also testing Pidge and Hunk's latest bike prototype, Blue).  
> Things get really gay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, the title makes it sound like Lance and Keith are gonna go mano y mano on each other, but sorry that's not happening in this chapter.

“Ready to eat my dust, Keith?” Lance sneered as he buckled in his helmet. He lowered the goggles over his eyes.

Keith scoffed. “That’s my line.”

The two were mounted on top of their motorcycles, Keith riding his signature “Red”, Lance on the blue prototype that Hunk and Pidge had worked together on.

From the side, Hunk was shaking his head. “I can’t believe they’re doing this…” He muttered. “Lance barely even knows what the hell he’s doing.” Lance had reviewed over the mechanics and controls of the cycle briefly, only bothering to remember information on how to start and how to stop. “You guys told me this would be a test drive, not a full-blown _race_.”

“Don’t worry, Hunk. Even if Lance is a total idiot, he’ll be pretty safe where we’re at,” Pidge reassured him. “I mean, even I used this test course to practice and I’m literally three years younger than all of you. He’d have to be _real_ stupid to not do this one right.”

“Hey!” Lance called. “I heard that!”

“Like I was trying to hide it!” Pidge hollered back.

Keith snickered as Lance clenched his teeth.

Pidge pushed their glasses up with their finger. “Okay,” they called from stands, “Winner is the first rider to go around the track three times. Try not to kill each other while you do this. And when I mean you,” they glared at Lance, “I mean Lance.”

“Really, Pidge? Really?”

“Yes, really. Now, on your mark!”

Both Keith and Lance looked forward, gripping their handlebars. They kicked up their kickstands, balancing their cycles on one foot.

“Get set!”

Engines roared.

“Go!”

Keith was in the lead, leaving a cloud of dust behind him. Lance choked at the floating debris, coughing as he yelled an angry “Hey!”

Keith glanced over his shoulder. “Look who’s eating dust now!” He laughed as he sped away.

“Dammit!” Lance cursed through clamped teeth, roaring his engine at full blast before chasing after his opponent. While going straight at such a high speed was easy, doing so at a turn was not as simple. At the first turn, Keith drifted flawlessly, narrowing into the inner circle of the track. Lance, however, failed to control his speed, skidding as he slammed the back breaks. When the bike came to a stop, he balanced it with one foot.

Hunk watched nervously, biting his nails anxiously. Pidge, however, silently examined the scene with narrowed eyes.

Lance looked up, seeing that Keith had already made a second turn. “No way…” He hastily locked his foot into the pedal, starting the engine as he chased after him. By the time Keith had finished the first lap, Lance was struggling to keep the distance between him and his opponent small enough to grasp onto the hope of ever winning.

While making a turn, Lance stared at Keith, who was far ahead. The way how Keith rode—it was elegant. He was leaning forward, grasping the handlebars before him tightly as he arched his back. The wind glided effortless across his body, leaving little to no friction. His turns too were daring; the distance between Keith and the earth was thin as he and his bike leaned together in sync. It was as if Keith had become one with the vehicle beneath him. While riding a motorcycle was definitely foreign to Lance, there were a few things that seemed so oddly familiar…

Taking a deep breath, Lance imitated Keith’s posture. Keith’s stance…it wasn’t far off from the position used when riding animals back at the Tribe. Nostalgia flooded into his head as he remembered riding his trusted polar bear dog, Concha. Closing his eyes, he visualized his own riding style that he had done at home—the style that had bonded him with his animal. What were in his hands were no longer handlebars, but reigns. What he was seated on was not the leather cushion of a bike, but the traditional saddle of his Tribe. No longer was there the hum of an engine echoing through his body, but the pants of his Concha. Lance smiled as he followed his old routine. _Lean forward. Look up. Arch your back. Most importantly…_ He took a deep breath.

_Trust your instincts._

The wind howled past him, vibrating the helmet as the bike lurched forward. Surprised at the burst of speed, Lance opened his mouth to holler a scream before clenching his teeth as he forced himself forward, his chin only inches from the handlebar. He narrowed his eyes as he accelerated in speed, tightening his grip on the handlebars as the motorcycle went faster and faster. He drifted with ease, leaning in sync with his ride as he glided across the gravel.

“Woo-hoo! Go, Lance!” Hunk hooted as he jumped out of his seat, pumping the air with his fists. “You go, buddy!”

 Pidge, beside him, smiled as they whispered a quiet “I knew it.”

Even Keith turned his head when he heard the commotion. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Lance approaching closer and closer. He could see Lance’s expression from his distance: instead of the usual dorky smirk he typically wore, he was wearing a genuine smile bursting with confidence and determination. Keith faced forward, smiling to himself.

“Looks like I can’t go easy anymore.”

By the start of the third lap, Lance had already caught up to Keith, only a mere few feet behind. Both were sweating from the intensity of the race, leaning forward as dust clouds streamed from the force of their tires.

“You still going, Keith?” Lance panted.

“You know it. You?”

“Going? I’m speeding up!” Lance increased his speed.

“Oh, yeah?” Keith followed suit.

Pidge stood from their seat, squinting at the two riders who had begun to close in on the finishing line. “H-Hunk…how fast are they going?”

Hunk squinted as well. “I’m not exactly sure, but if I were to guess, that’s gotta be at least 120.”

“Shit!” Pidge screeched. “I didn’t think they’d go over 110! Blue isn’t ready for that kind of stress on the motor!”

“Oh, god!” Hunk panicked. “How do we stop—“

_Boom._

A burst of flame and smoke burst from behind Lance as he began to scream, “Holy shit!”

Keith, hearing both Lance’s cries and the explosion, craned his head to look over his shoulder. His eyes widened as he caught sight of the rising flames. “Lance!”

“H-How the fuck do I get off this thing?!”

Keith accelerated to the end of the track. After skidding to a halt, he turned to Hunk, who was already running down to the finish line with Pidge. “Big man!” he shouted. “Can you earthbend?!”

“Me?”

“Just answer the damn question!”

“Y-yes!”

“Stop the front wheel of that bike!”

“What--Keith, are you _insane_?!” Pidge shrieked, both hands on their head. “That’ll send Lance flying!”

“Just trust me!” Keith pleaded. He flashed a desperate look at Hunk.

Hunk, swallowing hard, positioned his feet into the ground. With a grunt, he pushed his arms forward, and then brought them over his head. From the distance, a block of rock rose from the track ground, successfully lodging itself into the ridges of the blue motorcycle’s wheels. The bike lurched forward, launching Lance into the sky.

As he bolted through the air, Keith ran, slowly backing away as he estimated where Lance would land. With open arms, he broke Lance’s fall as they both crashed onto the ground, sending their helmets flying. On the gravel, they both breathed heavily, Lance’s head rested on Keith’s heaving chest.

Pidge climbed over the fenced barrier around the track and ran toward Lance and Keith. Hunk struggled to carry himself over, crashing to the ground as he fell over from the top. After brushing his pants, he joined the three at the track grounds.

“Well that prototype was a total bust…” Pidge said as they glanced at the burning debris of what was supposed to be a motorcycle on the side of the road. They looked down at the two boys splayed on the ground. “Are you guys okay?”

Lance, after a series of pants, feebly formed a thumbs up. “Yeah…fine,” he mumbled.

“Well, I’m not okay,” Keith retorted. “Get off of me. You’re heavy.”

Lance slowly got to his feet, wincing. He offered his hand to Keith, who was still down. “…Well?” He said when he sensed Keith’s hesitation.

Keith opened his mouth as if he were going to make a smart remark, but clamped it shut. He grabbed Lance’s hand. “Thanks,” he muttered as he was pulled up.

“That’s my line,” Lance responded with a wide grin. “You really saved me out there. I would’ve been on my way to the Spirit World if it weren’t for you.”

Keith gazed at Lance’s face, his mouth gaped slightly. Lance’s hair was sticking out from the sides of his head from sweat, and parts of his earthy skin were covered in patches of dirt and soot. Yet…from this view, Lance was surprisingly handsome, with his blue eyes and his dumb smile... Keith felt a blush rise to the tips of his ears, and looked down, hiding his red face with his bangs. “Whatever…”

Lance scoffed. “Still keeping up the tough-guy attitude, huh?”

“Hey—“ Keith cut himself off as he felt a sharp pain rise from his side. He clutched the area, panting.

Pidge examined Keith’s side with worry. “Keith, you’re hurt...! I’m so sorry, this is all my fault…” They buried their face in their hands.

Keith shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, mistakes happen,” he reassured them, patting their shoulder. However, he frowned. “Shit…how am I supposed to go to work like this…?”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Work? Can’t you just call out for a day?”

“Can’t. What, do you expect the bills to pay themselves?” Keith let out a heavy sigh. “I’ll just have to bear with it.” He forced a smile. “It’s not that big of an injury, anyway—“

“Nope. Nope. No. ” Lance said as he grabbed Keith by the arm; Keith turned red at the sudden touch. “You’re coming with me.” He glanced at Pidge and Hunk. “We’re heading inside. You guys get me a bowl of water and a towel.” He then gently pulled Keith off of the track as they headed towards the warehouse together.

 

__

 

“Sit here,” Lance pointed at the bench on the ground. Keith obeyed, grunting as he slowly eased himself into the seat. Lance clapped his hands. “Okay, now strip.”

Keith’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?!”

“You heard me, pretty boy: Strip.”

Keith felt his face burn. “W-what the hell?! No!”

Lance gave an exasperated sigh. “Keith, stop being a pussy. I can’t examine your wound if you’re gonna be difficult.”

“Wait, what?”

“Strip! Come on! Chop, chop!” Lance impatiently snapped his fingers. “Well?”

Defeated, Keith began remove his clothing. First the leather motorcycle jacket. Then, crossing his arms, Keith removed his red v-neck shirt. He stared at his body, making a face at the growing bruises that had formed between his chest and abs.

Lance stared at Keith, looking up and down his shirtless upper-body. He clicked his tongue. “Hmm…the bruising looks pretty bad...” He stood before Keith, inching his face closer to the wound with narrowed eyes. “Yep. Mm-hmm. Definitely bruises, alright, but nothing I can’t handle.” He was too absorbed at the wound to notice Keith’s blush that spread across his face, ears and neck.

“Lance.” Pidge entered into to the area with a large bowl inside. They walked steadily, taking each step with caution so to not spill the contents inside. “I brought the water.”

“Thanks, Pidge,” Lance said as he dragged a small stool, skidding it across the concrete floor. He placed it right in front of Keith. “Leave the water next to me.”

“Okay.” They gently placed the bowl beside Lance’s seat. Before walking away, they turned back. “…I’m really sorry about earlier. I just…”

Keith sighed. “Pidge, I thought I told you to not worry about it?”

“I-I know, it’s just that…I got you hurt, and I practically almost burned Lance alive because of my stupid mistake…”

“Pidge,” Lance got up from the stool to place both hands on their shoulder. Pidge looked up in dismay. “Pidge, it was an honest-to-God mistake. Sure, I almost died, but it’s not like you meant for that to happen, right?” He grinned. “I don’t die that easily, anyway. Just use this as a learning experience; don’t be so hard on yourself, okay?”

Pidge paused before giving a weak smile. “Okay.”

“Good kid.” Lance ruffled their hair before sending them off. He returned to his seat before Keith.

“You’re…surprisingly good with kids,” Keith observed.

Lance chuckled. “Well, when you’re the second oldest brother of nine siblings, you learn to get around.”

“Nine kids…” Keith gaped before looking at the bowl of water. “So…what are you going to do with that?”

“This.” With a wisp-like motion, Lance bent a stream of water from the bowl, bringing it to eye-level. He allowed the stream to flow upward until the bowl was empty, leaving a blob of water levitating in the air.

Keith’s eyes widened. “You can _waterbend_?!”

Lance smirked at his reaction. “Surprised? I thought my Water Tribe attire made it pretty obvious.” Swerving his arms from right to left, the blob of water broke into another stream before gathering at the group of bruises on Keith’s body. He knit his eyebrows together as he focused, hovering his hands over Keith’s abs as the water began to submerge the bruises. The water began to glow a bright aqua blue, reflecting against Lance’s own ocean-colored eyes. Keith flinched at the touch of the cold water, body tense, but began to loosen as a fresh coolness washed over his wound. He closed his eyes and moaned at the sensation.

“Ah…that feels good.”

Lance blushed furiously at this, taking steady breaths as he tried to calm down his racing heart. Not only had he been staring straight at Keith’s shirtless body—which was toned with muscle on his pale skin—he was only _inches_ away from it. And that _moan._ That moan was so (unintentionally) sexy that it should have been _illegal_. Lance bit his bottom lip; he couldn’t afford to lose focus while healing. After a few minutes (or what felt like seven years in Lance’s head) of fading the bruises away, Lance directed the water back into the bowl. He wiped the sweat from his brow, sighing. “All finished. Good as new!”

Keith woke from his daze and stared at his body. Not a bruise was left, and no pain lingered from before. He smiled gratefully at Lance. “Thanks, man. You really saved me.”

Lance laughed nervously as he looked away, flustered. “You’re welcome, though I can’t guarantee if I healed it perfectly. I mean, my skills aren’t nearly as good as those of my mom and sisters and especially my grandmother--”

“But you got the job done, and you did it _well_.” Keith stood up, pull his shirt back on. Lance watched in subtle disappointment; he mentally kissed Keith’s abs good-bye as they disappeared under the cloth. Stretching, Keith began to walk towards his motorcycle, which was propped on the kickstand towards the warehouse entrance. He turned back to look at Lance before leaving.

“Hey, Lance?”

“What is it, mullet?”

“I know that the race went straight to hell towards the end, but…” Keith coughed, “You’re actually a pretty good rider.” He fumbled to quickly put on his helmet.

“Hah?” Lance said. “What was that? Could you repeat that? I didn’t hear it the first time.”

“Sock it, Lance—I know you heard what I said.”

“Oh, come on! It won’t hurt to just say it again! Just a little louder this time.” Lance cupped his hand at his ear.

Keith kicked in his kickstand as he started the motor. “Not a chance. And for the record,” he looked back to give a mischievous smile, “I would’ve won the race, anyway, so don’t get cocky yet, asshole.”

As he drove away, Keith glanced at the side-mirrors attached to his handlebars. He could see Lance sticking up his middle fingers on both of his hands, his _fuck you_ ’s drowning into the roar of his engine. Smiling, he took a turn away from the warehouse roads, entering into a street that would eventually lead him back into the main streets of Republic City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, guys, I almost cried when I saw the number of kudos today. It's only been like a day or two since I first uploaded this fanfic, and the positive response has been amazing (especially because this is my first work and I was scared out of my mind posting it before). Thank you guys so much!!


	4. Prejudice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and the Red Lion form a deal.  
> On the other hand, Lance gets to find out a little more about Keith.
> 
> Not as gay as the last chapter but still pretty gay

Lance sighed as he shut the door to his room, swinging his neck around in a circle to crack any aching bones. Loosening the string around his waist, he removed the apron that hung on his neck. Unhooking the latch, he pushed open the window beside his bed. A rush of night-cold wind swept in as he ran his fingers through his hair. He leaned against the window sill with one arm.

Almost a week had passed since he first arrived to Republic City. Shiro had kept his word; Lance groaned as he saw yet another police car driving past, its headlights penetrating the dark as it drove around the corner.  Every night cars drove past, one after another, making it impossible to sneak out of the house unnoticed.

Lance buried his head into my arm. “I wish I could see him…”

“See who?”

“Woah!” Lance jumped, falling on his bottom as he crashed onto the floor. The Red Lion, on top of the roof, was hanging his head upside-down from the window. Clutching the edge of the roof, the Lion swung himself through the window, landing with a _pat_ on the ground. Reaching down, he grabbed Lance by the collar, holding him up in the air.

“I believe you have something that belongs to me.”

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb. Give me back my knife or else—“ He balled his other hand, flames seething from his fist—“I’ll get it back myself.”

Lance tapped the Red Lion’s arm nervously. “C-can you put me down first?” He gasped.

The Red Lion released him, allowing Lance to crash on the wooden floor. Lance grunted at the fall. Coughing, Lance rasped, “I’ll give you your knife back, but on one condition.”

“Condition..?”

“I…I want you to teach me how to be free.”

The Red Lion scoffed. “What kind of condition is that?”

“I’m serious!” Lance jumped to his feet. “I really do want to know how!”

“And what makes you think I’m the one to teach you that?”

“Well…” Lance walked past the Lion to look at the sky outside. “The way how you fought yesterday, it just struck me that you have so much control over yourself.” He chuckled. “Hell, even the Galra can’t hold you down, let alone the police.” He leaned against the window. “I came to Republic City not too long ago. It was the first time I ran away this far from home.”

“Home?”

“The Southern Water Tribe.”

The Red Lion drew in a sharp breath. “And what drove you to running away over a hundred miles?”

“Family things,” Lance replied vaguely. He turned to look at the Lion with desperation in his eyes. “I don’t know when my folks are going to find me and drag me back home.” He grabbed the Red Lion’s hands. “Before that happens, though, I want to be able to know what it’s like to be free, like you. When I’ve had my fair share of fun, _then_ I’ll give you your knife back.”

Lance could sense the Red Lion’s hesitation. He bowed his head in defeat. “Please,” he whispered softly.

The Lion was silent, clearly contemplating his answer. Finally, he answered, “I need a time limit.”

“What?”

“I said I need a time limit. I’m not going to babysit you forever.”

“I-I,” Lance stuttered, clearly not expecting the Red Lion to comply. “It’s the last quarter moon right now. We’ll just meet every half-moon, Saturday night, for a month. That leaves three weeks.”

The Red Lion stared at his hands that were wrapped by Lance’s. After a pause, he finally murmured, “You promise to give it back after?”

Lance smiled. “I promise. Let’s shake on it.”

The two shook hands briefly before breaking their hands apart.

The Red Lion gently pushed Lance aside before setting his foot onto the window sill. He looked back, mumbling, “You’re lucky that I pity you enough to do this.”

Lance laughed weakly. “I sure am,” he breathed.

And the Red Lion was gone.

 

\--

 

“Shit!” Pidge cursed as they wiped the oil from their face. The mark smeared across their cheek. “I completely forgot!”

It became a habit for Lance to visit Hunk and Pidge at the Bayard Enterprises Warehouse from between 3 to 5 during the late afternoon to deliver food from the restaurant every weekday.  The engineering pair tended to forget to eat when they worked, so it was Lance’s “all important job” (according to Matt and Samuel Holt) to make sure they were fed properly.

Lance loaded the delivery of empty cartons that once held riceballs into the metal box labeled _Ba Sing Se Noodles_. “Something happen?”

“I need to get these parts to the inner city,” Pidge sighed as they carried as they lunged a medium-sized drawstring bag of said goods from their side. “I completely forgot that the head of the city’s power plant, Mr. Wei, asked for us to send these out to him.” They looked at the watch ticking on their wrist. “Ugh, I know I promised him, but--”

“Want me to deliver it to him?” Lance offered. “Now that Blue’s all fixed up, I can get to the inner city in no time.”

Pidge looked doubtful. “I--”

“Pidge!” Hunk called desperately from underneath the engine. “I need some help here!”

After a moment of hesitation, Pidge sighed, handing the bag to Lance. “I’m going to get hell for this,” they muttered under their breath.

“Don’t worry!” Lance cooed assuredly. “I totally got this. No problemo.”

Pidge snorted before giving a grateful smile. “Thanks,” they said before turning back to join Hunk in working on their latest invention.

 

 

“Right this way, sir.”

Lance entered into the power plant, following the man who would guide him to Mr. Wei. The facility was roughly the same size as the Bayard Enterprise warehouse; inside, columns of cross-beams skyrocketed to the ceiling, threading themselves amongst the pipes and wires that ran along the walls. Windows speckled the walls, allowing some of the evening light to seep into the dark room. The constant sounds of gears shifting and shuffling echoed loudly throughout the area. The guide led Lance up on stairways that escalated above the rows of machines, where they came to a stop at a platform that carried a small office room and a balcony.

“This way, please.” The guide pointed to the balcony, where a man was overseeing the facility below from the balcony. “Mr. Wei, a visitor has arrived.”

The man turned, his glasses flashing from the lightning being generated from below. He, like Mr. Holt, had gelled-back grey hair with white streaks in between his locks, except he also wore a handle-bar mustache. He was clothed in a white button up shirt, layered with a dull red sleeveless vest. “You are not Samuel Holt’s child,” he observed.

“No, sir,” Lance handed the drawstring bag to the man. “I’m just here to represent my friend, Pidge. They said sorry for not being able to make it here themselves.”

Mr. Wei nodded. “Then you must be the new one from down South, no? How is the city life treating you?”

“Pretty well, actually. Everything is really new though, and I have a lot to learn.” Lance cocked his chin to behind Mr. Wei’s shoulder. “What’s going on down there?”

Mr. Wei stepped aside, beckoning Lance to stand beside him on the balcony. “My boy, in order to have a running city, there must be energy.” He smiled in nostalgia. “Long ago, Samuel, I and several others discovered that in order to control energy, we must have storage to retain and direct it in the city. Such generators are what keep Republic City alive and well twenty-four hours a day. Of course, generators need to feed off of energy themselves to function.” He pointed down at the rows of firebenders simultaneously releasing lightning from their fingertips into their respective machines. “That is where firebenders such as our own come into play.”

Lance whistled. “The work sure looks tough to do…”

Mr. Wei let out a hearty laugh. “We aim to hire young firebenders for physically-taxing work such as this. Most benders desperate for work here are those who are uneducated or have poor family backgrounds, qualities that would prevent them from finding work anywhere else but here.” He clicked his tongue disappointedly. “’Make sure you study well and stay out of trouble so to not end up like _them_.’ That is what I tell to my children.”

Lance frowned at this. “But—“

He was cut off from a loud sound. Lance turned to see that on the balcony at the far right, a man dressed in grey sharply blew on his whistle.

“Ah, it looks like the early evening shift is over,” Mr. Wei commented.

From below, the firebenders lined up along the generators began to lift up the masks that had covered their faces. Some had begun to unbuckle the chest plates covering their bodies as well. Lance narrowed his eyes as he leaned against the railing, catching interest in one of the firebenders. The bender’s long hair was tied in a ponytail, his hair swept away from his face. _Could it be…_?

“Keith?!”

Keith flinched at the sound of his name. He looked up. “Lance?!”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“What am _I_ doing here? What the hell are _you_ doing here?”

“Hold on-“Lance turned to briefly bow towards Mr. Wei before racing down the steps, his footsteps echoing as he leaped to the concrete floor. “I didn’t know you work here!” He panted.

Keith looked away, massaging the bridge of his nose, clearly irritated. “Out of all people…” he muttered as he tossed his mask and chest plate to the wooden box placed at the side of the machine room exit.

Lance jogged to Keith’s side, trying to match with Keith’s quickening pace. “Wait! Slow down.”

Keith halted, scowling. “If you’re here to laugh, go ahead,” he spat.

Lance widened his eyes, confused. “What?”

“You’re just here to laugh at me just because I have the low, shitty job doing dirty work, huh? Go on, laugh. I beg of you.”

“Woahwoahwoah—hold up,” Lance grabbed Keith by the shoulders. “Who said I was doing any laughing?” He spun Keith so that they faced each other. “I’m just here because Pidge needed some junk to be delivered to that power plant asswipe, okay?”

Keith raised his eyebrows. “Asswipe?” he repeated, stunned.

“That’s right: asswipe. I know that he and maybe most of Republic City talk shit about people who work here, but that doesn’t mean I’m with them. You might not believe me, but I swear I’m not judging. I swear it.” He released his grip on Keith, looking away. Lance’s ears reddened in embarrassment as he mumbled softly, “I would never judge _you_.” Feeling awkwardness spreading into the air, he quickly added, “I think it’s pretty neat that you can lightning bend too, going all _bzzz_ and _bzzz_.” Lance tried to imitate the stance for lightning bending, making the hissing sound effects of lightning bolts from his lips.

Keith stopped for a moment, blushing slightly before letting out a _pfft_.  He covered his mouth with one hand, and his stomach with the other. Lance’s face flushed at how adorable Keith looked; Keith’s almond-shaped eyes were half-shut as his face crinkled in laughter. Genuine laughter.

“W-what?” Lance sputtered, flustered.

Keith let out a sigh after recovering from his laughing fit. He flashed a bright smile. “Lance, I have to admit, you are the most interesting guy I’ve ever met.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Hey! Keith!”

 

\--

 

“Lance!” Pidge called as the waterbender entered to the restaurant. “I got a call from Mr. Wei earlier. Thanks a bunch for doing that delivery for me.”

It was eight-o-clock in the evening; rush hour had ended, so the restaurant was relatively empty. Pidge was seated at the counter, where Hunk rested a bowl of ramen in front of them.

Lance grinned. “And you said you couldn’t trust me?” he said slyly. Pidge rolled their eyes in response.

“Keith!” Hunk said, surprised. “Didn’t expect you to be here.”

Keith peeked over Lance’s shoulder. “I didn’t expect to come here, either,” he admitted. “I ended up getting dragged here by this idiot.” He pointed at Lance.

“Correction: I _convinced_ him to come here.”

 “Sure you did, because _you’re_ the one who’s going to pay for my meal out of your own paycheck.” Keith jokingly nudged Lance to the side before joining Pidge at the counter. He glanced at Hunk. “What do you got?”

Hunk hummed. “Honestly, things were pretty busy earlier, so there’s not much left-“

“I’m cool with anything.”

“If you say so,” Hunk shrugged. He disappeared into the kitchen, with Lance following close behind.

Pidge glanced at Keith after slurping some noodles. “So it looks like things are getting along well between you and Lance, huh? A lot better compared to how you guys first met,” they commented with their mouth full.

Keith narrowed his eyes. “Pidge, why did you send Lance to the power plant? It was supposed to be a secret!”

“But I never told him specifically that you did.”

“Yeah, but you sent him _knowing_ about my job.”

Pidge swallowed the mouthful of noodles in their mouth. “I wouldn’t have sent him if I knew that he was going to judge you.”

“Then what convinced you to think he wasn’t going to judge me?”

“Well, for starters, he didn’t make fun of Hunk for being unable to metalbend.”

“Yes, but that’s _Hunk_ —“

“Keith.” Pidge placed their chopsticks down beside their bowl. “I’ll be dead honest with you: I doubt that Lance is the type to hold prejudice against anyone.” They removed their glasses, wiping the condensing lenses with the hem of their shirt.

Keith raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “What do you mean?”

“When Hunk started beating himself over the fact he couldn’t metalbend, Lance comforted him with empathy—not sympathy—which is pretty odd coming from a waterbender.” They breathed a huff of air onto their glasses, fogging the lenses before resuming to wiping them. “Hunk and I both know Lance is hiding something, but we aren’t pressing onto him because it isn’t our place to. That being said,” they pushed their glasses back into place on their head, “I think the reason why he is so nonjudgmental is because he holds more judgement against his own self than anyone around him.” They shrugged. “I could be wrong and just say he’s that nice of a person, though.”

Keith looked down at his hands that rested on the countertop and clenched them. His eyebrows were knitted together. _He holds more judgement against his own self more than anyone around him…_

“You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep that up.”

“Holy—“Keith jumped back, almost falling from his stool.

Lance grinned, satisfied at his reaction. “Did I scare you?” He asked teasingly.

Keith, in return, rolled his eyes. “What is it?”

“ _This_.” Lance answered proudly as he placed a bowl of noodles in front of Keith.

Keith peered inside the bowl. There was no soup inside; instead, the yellow-tinted noodles were covered in a black gravy-like sauce, which was peppered with potato, chunks of meat and onion. Keith’s mouth began to water at the scent of the meal before him. “What is it?” he asked.

“These are black-bean noodles. We kinda of ran out of broth earlier, so I just made due with what was left.”

“ _You_ made this?”

“Yeah. Well, I mean, I didn’t make all of it; I just made the sauce. Hunk’s uncle made the noodles before. Anyway,” he handed Keith a pair of chopsticks. “Give it a try.”

With the chopsticks, Keith took a bite from the noodles, almost groaning at the taste. He swallowed before taking another ravenous slurp. “This is so good,” he mumbled, his mouth full.

“Really? I’m glad.” Lance said before cringing at the spot of black bean paste at the corner of Keith’s lip. “Here—“ he licked his thumb before wiping away the mark—“You got a little something over there.”

Keith instinctively swatted at Lance with the back of his hand. Lance flinched back before muttering, “Cold.” He turned back into the kitchen to help Hunk, who was washing the evening’s load of dirty dishes at the sink. Pidge, beside Keith, snickered in amusement as they saw him turn more and more red.

“Keith, you are so fucking gay.”

“Shut it, Holt.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooHH MY GOD. It's only been TWO days and I already got 100 kudos and lovely comments. Thank you guys so, so much! Honestly, I didn't think the series would gain momentum this fast, and as always, I appreciate the support you've guys have given me.
> 
> ___  
> Also, I made some Korean references.  
> First, I based Mr. Wei off of this CEO dude in the movie "Train to Busan," a "horror" (it's honestly not) tragedy that destroyed my soul. If y'all aren't familiar with the movie, there's a scene where this asshat points at one of the zombie victims and says to the hero's daughter, "If you don't study well, you'll end up like him." Thankfully, the daughter shoots back, "My mother told me that only bad people say that." I don't know if it works the same way in all households, but I know that in plenty of Asian ones (including my own), families try to discourage their children from choosing "irreputable" careers like art and whatnot by pointing fingers at others. I've always hated that method of parenting and I couldn't help but use Mr. Wei as a way to vent that. I think this comic (http://i.imgur.com/ZM1ld9b.jpg) sums up what I mean.  
> Second, the dish Lance makes for Keith is jajangmyeon (Korean black bean noodles). I just happened to eat that for dinner while writing this chapter lmao


	5. Roar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night one of the deal between Lance and the Red Lion: the first lesson of freedom.  
> Also, team voltron get to go hang out for the weekend! Yayyyy

It was the first night of the three that Lance would meet up with the Red Lion. Lance sat at his bedside, watching the clock anxiously as the minute had slowly approached midnight. Despite being worn out from helping out at the restaurant downstairs for a majority of his day, he was still bursting with energy from his anticipation. Last week had been the last first quarter moon; this week was a full moon, instead. Suddenly, he heard a knock behind him. Lance turned around to see the Red Lion crouching on top of the window sill.

“Ready to go?”

Lance grinned. “I’m always ready.”

“Good, because I’m going to need you to come with me,” The Red Lion leaped from the window sill, using his feet to blast flame that would cushion his landing. He looked up. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

Climbing after him, Lance slid along the shingles, landing on the ground with a _thud_. Losing his balance, Lance fell forward, only to be caught by the Red Lion.

“I got you.”

Lance could feel a faint blush rise on his face as he responded weakly, “Thanks.”

The Red Lion leading, the two passed by around the corner of the restaurant into a narrow alleyway. Lance looked anxiously left and right.

“Don’t worry; the Galra have been inactive lately. And most of the police are at the pro-bending the arena anyway now that the new season has started,” the Red Lion said as if he could read Lance’s thoughts.

“Probending?”

“You don’t even know what probending is? Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said you lived a pretty sheltered childhood.”

“Hey—“ Lance stopped as he caught the flying object that the Red Lion had thrown at him. He looked down at his hands: it was a black motorcycle helmet. He looked up to see the Red Lion mount on the bike, locking his own helmet into place. The bike itself looked old and rusty; the dull red paint was clearly chipping off certain parts of the bike, with the metal splotched red in certain areas. “ _This_ is your ride? It’s so...sad. Is it even strong enough to carry two people?”

“This bike was my mom’s.”

Lance’s eyes widened as he clamped his mouth, realizing he had stepped on a landmine. However, the Red Lion was unfazed, instead patting on the seat behind him; he beckoned Lance to sit in it. Lance obeyed, bringing his leg over as he settled onto the bike. He gripped the edge of the seat cushion, balancing himself.

The Red Lion let out an exasperated sigh behind his mask. Turning back, he pulled Lance’s arms from the seat and wrapped them around his waist. “You’re going to fall off if you don’t hold on.”

“Wait, what?”

And with that, the Red Lion accelerated on the motor, the tires screeching as he cut around the corner. The engines roaring, the motorcycle darted down the dimly-lit streets, Lance shrieking as he tightened his grip on the Lion’s waist.

“W-Where are we going?!” Lance managed to stammer, his voice fluctuating as the ride bumped up and down.

“We’re going into the inner city,” the Red Lion responded loudly, yet calmly.

“At this speed?!”

“As long as we don’t go the crowded streets towards the Arena, it’ll be fine.”

“That’s not what I meant!“

The bike skewed to the right and left, back and forth, weaving itself through the several honking cars driving by. Despite riding straight through a city street at high speeds, the Red Lion drove with ease, avoiding any chance of collision.

The Lion looked through the mirror, catching Lance’s gaze. “Now here’s what I want you to do,” he instructed over the humming of the motor, “I want you to roar as loudly as you can. Don’t worry about the people watching; they won’t recognize you with the helmet covering your face anyway. Just let it all out.”

Lance frowned in confusion, but complied. Hanging his head back, he wrenched his mouth open, and let out the loudest fucking yell from the top of his lungs. He gasped, panting and glanced at the pedestrians and drivers in their surroundings. While the wide-eyed spectators pointed fingers at them, they eventually looked away, assuming that it was just another pair of rebellious teenagers.

“Keep going!” The Red Lion urged.

Lance let out another yelp before hooting a _woohoo_ , leaning back while still gripping onto the Lion’s waist.

 

The motorcycle began to slow as the Red Lion and Lance approached the outerskirts of town, back into the district where Hunk’s Uncle’s restaurant lay. Lance was still laughing, his cheeks flushed against his dark skin from the exhilaration. He rested his head against the Red Lion’s shoulder.

“That-that was fucking incredible,” he gasped in between his giggles. “Amazing. I can’t even—“ He broke off into another fit of laughter. Lance let out a _phew_ before glancing at the motorcycle’s mirror. “Do you do this kind of thing all the time?”

“Joy rides? Not really. The streets are normally a lot more full than that, but everyone’s too busy rooting for their favorite probending team to do anything else.” The Red Lion answered. “Joy rides aren’t as fun if you’re the driver, anyway.”

Lance nodded in agreement. “That’s true. I mean, I can barely manage riding the motorcycle my friend made.” He shivered. “It was pretty stressful during my first time.”

“How so?”

“The motor overheated and almost lit my ass on fire.”

He could hear the Lion chuckle faintly behind his mask.

Lance pouted briefly before switching topics. “Seriously, though, I need a recap. What does driving at illegal speeds have to do with anything about freedom?”

The Red Lion hummed thoughtfully. “Think about it,” he said. “Remember how you were screaming your head off?”

“People looked at us like we were crazy delinquents.”

“But you kept screaming, didn’t you?”

Lance paused before giving a crooked smile. “Yeah. I guess I did.”

He could see the Lion wink behind his mask.

 

 

\--

 

When he opened his eyes, Lance squinted at the morning night seeping through the window curtains. His body was still sore from the other night’s joy ride with the Red Lion, his throat slightly parched from his yelling. His heart beat was much slower, the exhilaration from before nothing more than a faint, dream-like tingling. Good thing it was Sunday; Hunk’s father tended to give that day off as a break.

Lance yawned as he walked down the creaking steps, entering into the restaurant with stretched arms. He was still dressed in his pajamas: a skin-tight Water Tribe undershirt and shorts. He rubbed his eyes as he joined Hunk, who was eating breakfast, at the counter.

“Mornin’,” he mumbled groggily.

Hunk nodded, munching on the grains on his spoon. He passed the bowl of rice, decorated with dried seaweed speckles and a sunnyside egg, to Lance. “Eat quickly; we gotta head out in a bit.”

“Huh? Why?” Lance asked as he broke the egg yolk with his chopsticks

Hunk swallowed his last bite as he rose from his seat, empty bowl in hand. “Pidge just called in an hour ago. They said that since they have Sundays off, they wanted to hang out at Little Ba Sing Se Mall for the day.” He grinned. “It’s always been one of my favorite places to go to in the city ever since I was a kid. It’s got a really homey feeling to it—at least, for me.” Hunk pushed his stool in and headed for the kitchen sink in the back.  “I’m sure you’ll like it!”

Lance hummed. “Looking forward to it.” Raising the bowl to his lips, he began to shovel the yellow-stained rice into his mouth.

\--

“Whoa…” Lance and Hunk breathed simultaneously as they gazed upon the Bayard automobile before them.

In the driver’s seat was Matt Holt waved at them awkwardly. In the seat beside him, Pidge leaned against the chair, folding their arms, their glasses replaced with shades. The car itself was sleek and fancy despite carrying a simple design; its jet black color shined against the light like obsidian, not hiding that it was no vehicle from a commoner.

Pidge pointed to the back seats behind them with their thumb. “Get in losers,” they said, “we’re going shopping.”

 When they arrived to the mall, Lance gasped. The size of the mall was enormous; the towering walls surrounding the facility were decorated with red shingles, imitating the walls that surrounded the Earth Kingdom. Hundreds of people shuffled in and out through the wall gates, laughing and chattering with shopping bags hanging from their arms and hands. As the four got out of the car, Matt handed his keys to an employee dressed in green. The employee bowed before entering the driver’s seat, taking the car away to one of the parking lots out back.

“I’m going to go ahead in first, since I’ve got a meeting to attend with one of the heads there,” Matt said before going integrating into the crowd. “I’ll pick you guys up later! Don’t get lost and don’t get in trouble while I’m gone.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Pidge dismissed him, though their tone was loving. Lance smiled at this, feeling faint nostalgia as he remembered the friendliness he had amongst his own siblings down South. His thoughts were cut off as Pidge squeezed between them, tugging them by their shirts.

“I invited someone else, too,” they said, grinning widely. They pointed their chin forward. 

Keith was walking towards them, scratching his head as he looked away.

‘H-hey!” Lance said, surprised.

“Hey,” he mumbled back.

“And so,” Pidge clapped their hands together, “I’ve decided to bring us all together for a little day out. We’ve all been working hard, and I think we all deserved a little break, y’know? Team bonding.”  They shifted their shades with their pointer finger. “Follow me.”

Moving through the crowds, Pidge guided the three behind them into the inner walls. Lance glanced around his surroundings; the closer one got to the core of the mall, the more exquisite things got. The shops went from ordinary tailoring shops of the middle class to high namebrand boutiques. The food shops transitioned from bean bun stands to fancy restaurants. Even the people changed; the familiar, light-hearted crowds of people had shrunk to cliques of aristocrats strutting though the streets in a sophisticatedly stiff manner. When approaching the inner third wall, the four were halted by guard dressed in the Metalbending Police Force uniform. He stood in front of the gateway, blocking the entrance.

“And what do you suppose you four are doing here?” He questioned, suspicious.

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “To shop, of course.”

“We do not allow _commoners_ —“ He eyed Hunk, Lance, and Keith as he spat the word—“into this zone.”

“Excuse me, sir, but the inner rings were always open to others,” Pidge protested. “These are my friends, and they’re here to shop just as much as I am.”

The officer did not budge. “Relearn the rules, then. Get lost, little girl,” he spat. Pidge’s eye twitched in response.

“This asshole!” Lance hissed through his teeth. He and Keith, in sync, stepped forward, fist balled; Pidge, however, rose a hand, stopping them in their tracks.

“I’ve got this,” they said carefully, slowly taking off their shades. Closing their sunglasses, they tossed them to Hunk, who fumbled them in his hands. They turned to indignantly glared at the officer before them.

“Sir. I don’t know what household _you_ were raised in, but where I was raised, I learned that only assholes would be illogical enough to discriminate anyone for solely their financial status.” They pointed their finger at the officer, effectively cutting his protests off. “I’m a kid. So what? That gives you absolutely no right to bring your irrational prejudice against me simply because I am younger, or to my friends because they are in a lower social class.” They stepped closer towards the officer, bring their finger close to his Adam’s apple. “There are three things I despise most in this world: One, when my people are looked down upon for being nonbenders. Two, when people decide to belittle me enough to disregard my intelligence _and_ gender just because I’m younger. And third?” They stood on their toes, bringing their face close to the officer’s. “When people decide to judge others when they are honestly no better themselves.”

The officer turned beet red, his own face scrunching in rage. “Y-you!” He stammered. He was cut off when a hand grasped his shoulder.

“Officer Choi, what is the meaning of this?” Shiro demanded sternly, his brows furrowed.

“Deputy Shirogane, sir, I—“

“You've done enough,” Shiro retorted. He turned to the rest of the group, whose eyes were widened in surprise by his appearance. “I’m sorry you had to go through something so despicable. I was irresponsible of my men.” He bowed his head in apology. “I will personally apologize to Mr. Holt and Matt as well for this incident. I failed my duty as a deputy and officer.”

Pidge shook their head. “We know you didn’t have any part in doing this.” They smiled understandingly. “Just make sure to keep that ‘Choi’ guy in line, please.”

The officer’s jaw dropped. “ _Holt_?! As in, the _Holts_ of Bayard Enterprises?”

Pidge scoffed at his bewilderment as Shiro glared at the officer. “You will return to headquarters. I will file a report to Chief to determine whether or not you will have your badge suspended.”

“Suspended?! Isn’t that a bit overboard?” Choi argued. “I mean, I said a few things here and there but-“

“You are a representative of the organization who swore to protect the citizens of Republic City, not divide them. You have disrespected the oath as a member of the police force, and you have disrespected _me,_ ” Shiro said harshly. “Return to Headquarters. _Now_.”

Choi opened his mouth as if he were to protest again, but clamped it shut. In seething anger, he shoved his way past the crowd, grumbling under his breath as he exited the mall.

Shiro sighed, pulling his white tuft of hair back in frustration. “Word had gotten around that the upper-class has been bribing officers to filter out those of any lower status. I came here to investigate if that were true myself, and...” he sighed again.

Pidge rested their hand on Shiro’s arm. “It’s not your fault. I’ll let Dad and Matt know. You dealt with the situation, and I know you tried your best. Just be sure to let the Chief know, okay?”

“Right,” Shiro smiled gratefully, ruffling Pidge's hair. After waving to the rest of the group, he then took off, disappearing into the swarms of shoppers. Pidge watched Shiro’s back for a moment before facing their friends, regaining their composure.

“Now that _that’s_ over, let’s go in, shall we?”

As Pidge guided them throughout the inner ring, they pointed at one of the boutiques labeled “Aquamarine Boutique” in fancy font. “Lance, you should check out that place,” they recommended. “They’ve got some pretty good Water Tribe-inspired apparel that can replace your current outfit.”

“What’s wrong with the one he’s wearing now?” Keith asked, frowning.

“Oh, right, Keith. I don’t think that you’ve noticed but,” Hunk pointed at Lance’s shoulder. The shirt was still singed black.

“I don’t really have a spare change of clothes other than the restaurant uniform,” Lance admitted. “But holy shit! Pidge, are you sure you want to pay for this? All the clothes look really expensive, too-“

“Lance,” Pidge interrupted, “Just use this as a way to compensate for almost burning you alive with Blue.” They shifted their gaze to Keith. “Keith, while Hunk and I check around some of the other shops, you help Lance pick an outfit. You’re the most fashion-driven out of us, so make sure Lance doesn’t choose something horrendous while we’re gone.”

Lance and Keith entered into the boutique, the shop bell jingling as the door shifted.  While the shop itself was not overly large, it harbored rows and rows of blue fabric, many of which were decorated with either linings of fur or arrays of beads. Lance shuffled through the variety of clothes, murmuring quietly, “Feels like home…”

It wasn’t hard to choose an armful of outfits that he would try. In the fitting room, Lance quickly changed in and out of the different clothes, making combinations behind the door. He would then pose in front of the several mirrors around the room; Keith, who sat in the corner, would evaluate the outfit, giving feedback on what could be kept and what could be returned.

After a couple of tries, Keith called, “So what did you do to your shirt?”

“Oh? You mean the burn?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure you can’t just start a fire using water.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.” Sounds of zipping and rustling could be heard from behind the door. “I was just in a fight one night, is all.”

“A fight?”

“Yeah. I mean, I didn’t get hurt or anything; it’s just that a firebender skewed his aim and accidentally hit me close to the shoulder. Even though it was an accident,” Lance said hesitantly, “I was still kind of down about it. Those clothes were my favorite outfit from back home, and all I’ve got, to boot. I didn’t think I’d replace them so soon.”

Keith bit into his bottom lip, silent. Lance, noticing Keith had gone quiet, called out, “Keith, are you still there?” He unlocked the fitting room door, walking out. He paused to see that Keith was still there on the bench. “Keith?”

Keith released his bite against his lip, his mouth open when he realized that Lance had walked out half naked. Lance’s body was not overly muscular, but was certainly toned with lean muscle. His dark skin glowed a sleek complexion, speckled slightly with faint freckles. Before he knew it, Keith felt a blush rise hotly against his face, neck and ears. Grabbing the nearest shirt, he chucked it at Lance, who flinched at the surprise throw.

“Dude, put a shirt on!” He forced out before covering his eyes with one hand.

Lance, realizing the situation, turned red himself. Taking the shirt, he quickly returned into the fitting room. “Sorry!” He managed to squeak out before locking the door. He wrapped and button the shirt before remerging from the room.

Keith, who covered his face with his hands, looked up. Lance wore a shirt with its sleeves rolled up, showing the muscle from his forearms that were covered by navy blue gloves. No longer did Lance wear his heavy, fur-covered footwear, but buttoned-up boots ideal for traveling around the city. Of course, Lance reused his undamaged pants from before, and still wore his white bone choker on his neck. His skin-tight tunic was visible underneath his new shirt. His outfit was complete with a blue fabric belt that wrapped itself around his waist.

Lance smiled nervously. “What do you think?”

Keith leaned back, clapping his hands slowly. “Now this,” he said, “this one is a keeper.”

 

\--

“So how was your date with Lance?” Pidge asked. Matt had already gone to drop off Lance and Hunk in the earthbender-dominated borough in the outer city, while Keith and Pidge decided to head home by foot.

Keith coughed, sputtering, “Date? What date?”

Pidge rolled their eyes. “Come on! You were so excited when you heard Lance was going.” They imitated Keith’s scowl, trying to replicate his voice by lowering their own by a few octaves. “’I’ll go if Lance goes.’ Isn’t that what you said?”

Keith scoffed. “First of all, I don’t sound like that at all. Second, what does wanting to hang out with him have anything to do with liking him?”

Pidge said innocently, “You sure didn’t deny your feelings when we were eating at Hunk’s place.”

“W-well! I…” Keith trailed off, embarrassed.

Pidge’s grin shifted into a solemn expression. “Keith, you know you can’t keep this whole double-life thing forever,” they warned. “Lance is going to find out eventually. You might as well just tell him.”

Keith grit his teeth. “He’s not going to find out, and I’m not going to tell him.”

“I told you before; Lance isn’t the type to judge. Why aren’t you being honest with him?”

Keith turned to face Pidge, indignant. “Because I just don’t want to disappoint him.” He took a deep breath before saying weakly, “I-I’m just a dirty liar. A fake.” He looked down at his feet, his head down, as his eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

Pidge hummed. “You can do what you want; I’m only just advising that you tell the truth. But I just want you to know this: If Lance is willing to trust the Red Lion,” they pointed their finger at Keith’s heart, “I’m sure he’d be willing to trust Keith Kogane, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally cannot believe the support I've gotten for this like pls someone   
> Honestly, it's not even a secret that Keith is the Red Lion lmaoo   
> Yes, Pidge is aware of a lot of things about Keith, but we'll get to that eventually.
> 
> ___  
> pinch my cheeks  
> Surprisingly enough, many of my friends have also picked up on this series, including my sister. Still thankful for all their support <3
> 
> From here on out, I'm going to start uploading the chapters irregularly because I have some last-minute summer homework to cram, followed by school. At this point, my chapters will probably come out one or twice a week, depending on time. Until then, please bear with me!


	6. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second night the Red Lion and Lance meet. Revelations about the pasts of both Lance and the Red Lion, and incoming angst for the both of em

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole thing is as beta as raw fish so apologies for any spelling/grammar errors and such

It was a full moon that night, the second night in which Lance and the Red Lion would meet. Their meeting was the same as before: The Red Lion would come at around midnight through the bedroom window that Lance would leave open.

“Tonight, we’re going to do something a bit different,” the Red Lion announced.

Lance raised an eyebrow. “’Different?’ Hope you mean something that won’t actually kill us like last time.”

“Depends,” the Red Lion hummed as he faced his back towards Lance, squatting. He pointed to his back with his thumb. “Grab on.”

Lance brought his two hands onto his forehead and groaned. “Red, I held onto you that only because we were on a motorcycle going like ninety miles per hour, but I’ll have you know that that was a one-time thing.”

“This is part of our little contract; now play your part, unless you want to break our deal?”

Exhaling a defeated sigh, Lance latched himself onto the Red Lion, wrapping his arms and legs around the Lion’s neck and waist. He felt himself blush out of embarrassment at the sight of them; a grown 18-year-old getting piggybacked by a suspicious man with a mask.

“So, uh…what are we going to do now?”

“This.” The Red Lion made a running start before leaping out the window with Lance clinging onto his neck for dear life. Lance opened his mouth to let out a scream before clamping it shut, realizing that if he made a sound he could wake up those around the borough. Before they could hit the ground, the Red Lion blasted fire from all four limbs, flames building from the palms of his hands and soles of his feet. The burst sent the two into the air, the Lion desperately trying to stabilize the imbalance of weight from the both of them. After spiraling several times, the Red Lion eventually landed on one of the rooftops, falling to his knees against the shingles. Lance loosened his gri and scrambled to climb off.

“You know, I thought watching you fly in the air with fire was really cool and all,” Lance panted, “But this? This isn’t going to work. Are you crazy?”

“You’re right,” the Lion said through his mask thoughtfully, his voice tinged with a daredevil-like attitude. “I am crazy.” He reached for Lance’s legs, scooping him up into his arms bridal style.

Lance yelped in surprise. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Going up.” The Red Lion replied bluntly. He broke into a second running start, leaping from roof to roof as he propelled himself with his feet. While he was unable to launch himself in the air as high as he had when he was able to use his hands, the fiery boost was enough to remain in the air for some time. His steps were much nimbler and balanced compared to before; he quickly skipped across the several houses underneath. Lance, who had squeezed his eyes shut from fear before, opened them. Looking up at the Red Lion, Lance stared in awe at the scene: the Red Lion’s brilliant red mask was dulled by the blue light of the moon behind, and sparkled under the stars.

As the Red Lion progressed into the inner parts of the city, the buildings gradually began to increase in height, raising the two higher and higher above the ground. The blue light of the moon disappeared, instead replaced by the golden yellow shine of the city lights. Lance, now safe and secure in the Lion’s arms, glanced down to marvel at the sight from a bird’s eye view; children were laughing as they raced across the sidewalk, adults strolling along the shop-filled streets. Cars passed by here and there, though they all seemed to be traveling in the same direction, to the same location.

“Where are the cars going?” He asked curiously.

“The Probending Arena,” the Red Lion replied, “and that’s where we’re headed, too.”

 

Eventually, the Red Lion slowed to a stop on the roof of a building facing the Arena, where they decided to rest. Lance’s blue eyes gleamed with wonder at the stadium, holding his knees close to his chest as he spectated the sight. The Arena was incredibly large, taking the appearance of a colosseum and a palace hybrid. Its jade-colored tiles shimmered as the stadium basked in its golden light, flashing the elegance of royalty. Fans dressed in different colors streamed into the Arena, chanting out animal names that would represent their favorite probending teams. Loud hoots echoed from the Arena, accompanied with the thundering claps of hands.

“Incredible,” Lance breathed.

The Red Lion shrugged. “I would take you up for a closer look, but we’d easily get spotted by the cops if we didn’t crash to our deaths first. I figured that I could at least show you the Arena from the outside.” He paused before saying quietly, “You know, when I was a kid, I always dreamed to be a probender.”

Lance widened his eyes in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah. But that dream died as when my mother passed. Still,” he sighed, “I find myself coming back here every now and then out of habit nowadays.”

A wave of silence crashed between the two. Clearing his throat to break the awkwardness, Lance asked, “Do you sometimes…miss your mom?”

The Red Lion was quiet, contemplating over what to say. Finally, he responded, “My mother is in a better place now; even if she smiled and laughed, I always knew she was dying inside ever since my father left her. But…yes,” he admitted as nostalgia clouded his eyes, “I do miss her sometimes. For being the only family I had left, she was a great person. She was the whole reason I got into doing joy rides, doing the whole ‘roaring’ thing and all, since she was the ‘driver’ and I was the ‘lion”.” The Lion gave a small chuckle as he recollected his past memories. “But that being said, I remember who she is through what she left behind for me. Her bike, for example, and…her knife.”

Lance’s face fell. “Holy shit,” he stuttered, “if you told me, I would’ve given back—“

“No,” the Lion interrupted. “We made a deal, so there’s no going back. And it’s not like I hate you or anything,” the Red Lion looked to the side in embarrassment, “otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed to do this.” The Lion rubbed the back of his neck with his gloved hand. “It’s a nice feeling to be able to be out with someone like this; I haven’t had this much fun in ages,” he confessed.

Lance gaped, surprised at what he was hearing, before breaking into a shy yet brilliant smile. “Me, too,” he agreed wholeheartedly.

“But that’s beside the point,” the Red Lion said, switching topics, “I have something to apologize for.”

“Huh?”

The Red Lion cocked his head at Lance’s direction, pointing at the waterbender’s new clothing. “I burned your other outfit on the night we first met, didn’t I?”

Lance’s eyebrows shot up. “Y-you knew?”

“I didn’t really remember until I shop—I mean, when I noticed that you changed your clothes,” the Lion corrected himself, “but even so, that wasn’t cool of me to do. At all. I’m sorry.” He bowed his head slightly at Lance in apology, subtly fidgeting in awkwardness.

Lance stared with his mouth open, dumbfounded, before breaking into a toothy grin. “Apology accepted,” he said. “Don’t sweat it; my friends helped me choose and buy this outfit, too. I probably look like a real guy from Republic City in this, huh?” He jokingly flashed a suggestive model pose; the Red Lion snorted in amusement.

The two broke into a quiet laughter, with the Red Lion snickering “What the fuck was that” behind his mask.

“Seriously though, getting new clothes was probably for the better,” Lance confessed once his laughter had died down. “It really makes me feel like a new person, y’know?” He took in a deep breath as he looked over in the distance, his blue eyes glistening from the Arena lights. “As much as I love my family, sometimes, they’re just…” He waved his hands back and forth rapidly at the Lion in a flustered panic. “Sorry, not to invalidate your feelings there! I didn’t mean to do that.”

The Red Lion shook his head, unoffended. He grunted as he leaned onto his back against the rooftop shingles, interlocking his fingers as he cushioned his head with his hands. “Go on,” he urged, “I’m all ears.”

Lance looked over his shoulder to glance down at the Red Lion before bringing his knees closer to his chest. “I love my family, or rather, I want to love them. I really do, being the brother of nine other siblings. I try to spend as much time with them as I can, especially the younger ones.” He sighed. “It’s because they don’t know that I’m different like the rest of the tribe does.”

“Different?”

“Yeah, different. Different enough that most people in my tribe would try to avoid me, and I don’t blame them,” Lance murmured. “It’s so funny how much I just want them to notice me even though it’s in vain. I tried to prove myself to them by learning how to do professional healing from Gran Gran, and by training a wild polar bear dog myself…”, he trailed off, tightening his grip around his legs.

The Red Lion held up his hand. “Don’t push yourself if you don’t want to explain to me. You can just leave it at that,” he reassured.

Lance nodded before continuing with his story. “My parents decided that me staying in the South isn’t ‘suitable’, so they figured that they could send me to the Northern Water Tribe to control my waterbending. Except I don’t want to go there.” Lance swallowed hard. “I knew that if I were to go there, they’d just keep me prisoner. I’d never be able to experience freedom ever again. So I left.”

The Red Lion—or rather, _Keith—_ recalled what Pidge had said nights ago:

_I think the reason why he is so nonjudgemental is because he holds more judgement against his own self than anyone around him._

Keith remembered what Lance had said to him the day he found out that Keith worked in the city power plant:

_You might not believe me, but I swear I’m not judging. I swear it._

_I would never judge you._

The Red Lion rose from his back, briefly stretching with his hands high in the air. He then gently placed his hand on Lance, who had buried his head into his arms. Lance flinched at the touch, and he looked up. Their eyes met from inches apart; Lance could see the faint glow of ruby red behind the Lion mask.

“I don’t know much about you,” the Lion admitted. “I don’t know your past, and I can’t empathize with you. But even so,” he wrapped his fingers around Lance’s hand, “You’re a good person. I know it. I’ve _seen_ it.”

Lance’s eyes widened in shock. His mouth flew open as if he were going to say something, but no sound came out.

“Y-You don’t know me,” the Red Lion corrected himself quickly, his heart thumping in a flurry of panic when he realized what he had done, “but I’ve seen you. But not in a stalkerish way or anything, because that would be weird but--” He cut himself off as he breathed a heavy, frustrated sigh before saying, “the point is that you _are_ different. And even if you being different scares away other people, I’m not going to run away.” His red eyes softened from behind the mask. “You’re different, but you’re also unique. Special. One of a kind. You are you, and only you. And I swear,” his voice dropped to a whisper as he lowered his head, “I would never judge _you._ ”

After a brief moment of silence, the Red Lion twitched at the sound of sniffles. Looking up, he saw Lance’s face had crumpled; his blue eyes had become even more blue as they filled with tears streaming down across his flushed cheeks. Lance released his grip from his knees, placing his forehead against the Red Lion’s hand, and broke into a sob. The Red Lion, still holding onto Lance’s hand, wrapped his other arm around Lance, embracing him comfortingly.

“Thank you,” Lance managed to say as his shoulders hook with each sob, “Thank you.”

 

\--

 

Landing onto the rooftop of Hunk’s Uncle’s place, Lance was able to scramble back through the window, into his bedroom. After landing onto the wooden floor, he peeked out window, making eye contact with the Red Lion.

“Sorry that I kind of lost it earlier. I normally don’t lose my cool like that.”

The Red Lion sighed. “Don’t apologize for doing something human.”

“Right,” Lance said. “Sorr—I mean, thank you,” he quickly corrected himself.

The Red Lion nodded, satisfied. He rose, positioning himself to jump off the roof.

“W-wait!” Lance called, stopping him. “Before you go, I just wanted to say…thanks for telling me all that. You know, me being special and all.” He felt his face turn into a bright red against his dark skin. “No one’s really ever told me that before.”

“Really?” the Red Lion hummed curiously. “Then maybe I ought to say it more often.” He leaped off from the shingles, landing gracefully onto the ground. When he looked up, a flustered Lance quickly shut the window and disappeared from sight as he shuffled to drape the curtains, covering the glass.

As he began to walk away from the building, Red Lion caught sight of an object glistening under the full moon. He pushed his mask to the side, revealing Keith’s face. Keith crouched down, carefully picking up what appeared to be a necklace. His eyes narrowed. Did it belong to Lance? The whole thing was blue anyway, including the choker’s cloth and the stone. Keith turned to look back at Lance’s bedroom window, only to realize that the curtains had already been drawn. Taking the necklace, he carefully tucked it inside his back pocket, raising an eyebrow on why Lance would have such an elegant piece of jewelry in his possession.

 

\--                                      

 

“Hey, Pidge,” Keith said as he approached them. They were seated on their stool, tightening nuts and bolts on their latest creation. They were so occupied with their work that they didn’t hear him call their name. Keith cleared his throat before repeating more loudly, “Pidge.”

“Woah!” Pidge jolted up.  Noticing Keith, they let out an exasperated sigh, pushing their glasses up their nose with the back side of their gloved hand. “Keith, you know that you can’t both me when I’m in my zone—“ they trailed off when they noticed the pendent in Keith’s hand. “Where did you get that?”

“I was out with Lance last night as Red and I think he dropped it while we were out. I figured it was some kind of Water Tribe jewelry or something.” Keith examined the necklace; it was a blue choker with a light blue gemstone fastened on it. The stone depicted a floral design, its flowy lines etched into the surface like a river stream. “I didn’t think he would be the type to wear stuff like this.” He squinted at the small print carved into the back of the stone. “Ny…ma?” He spelled out.

Pidge’s face fell as their jaw dropped open. “Keith,” they said slowly, “I think that’s a—“

“Who’s getting married?!”

Pidge and Keith both turned to see Hunk, who was loudly gasping with both hands on his cheeks.

Keith shot a confused look at Pidge.  “Married?” he croaked, the word stuck in the middle of his throat.

Pidge looked down at their feet, avoiding Keith’s gaze. “It’s Lance’s betrothal necklace,” they answered quietly.

“B-Betrothal?” Keith’s heart sank.

Hunk nodded, clearly excited by the whole idea. “Oh yeah, that’s definitely a betrothal necklace! Handcarved by the groom for his bride! It’s kinda like an engagement ring, except it’s only a thing for the Northern Water Tribe. It looks like Lance was making it for his special someone then.”

“ _Northern_ Water Tribe? But I thought Lance was from the Southern!”

Pidge’s eyes widened as they put the pieces together. “Then that means—“

“What are you three doing?”

Pidge, Hunk and Keith all turned to see Lance entering into the warehouse with one eyebrow raised.

“Am I missing out on something good?” His smile vanished when he caught sight of the necklace in Keith’s hand. “Where…Where did you get that?” he asked darkly.

Before Keith could explain, Hunk rose to give Lance a giant bear-hug. “Congratulations, Lance!” He bubbled. “I didn’t know you were getting married! Who’s the lucky bride up north?”

Lance pried himself out of Hunk’s grip and angrily snatched the pendant from Keith’s hand. “I’m not getting married to any ‘lucky bride up north,’” he spat.

Hunk’s face crumpled in shock, realizing he had stepped on a landmine. “Lance,  I—“

“Drop it, Hunk.”

“But—“

“I said DROP IT,” Lance yelled furiously. He flinched at the sound of his volume, his eyes widening. His friends gaped at him in shock, speechless. Turning away, he muttered, “I just…I just really don’t want to talk about it right now. I’m sorry.” He stormed off, shoving the necklace into his back pocket. A motor could be heard from the outside as Lance drove away on Blue.

Hunk lowered his head, his face overflowing with guilt. Pidge rose to pat him on the back.

“Don’t worry,” they reassured him. “We know you didn’t mean to hurt him.”

Hunk gave a small, grateful smile before turning away to work on one of the nearby machines, possibly as a way to distract himself. When they looked away, Pidge saw that Keith had already seated himself at the back wall in sullen silence. They dragged a small stool from the side to sit next to him.

“Keith,” they started gently, “are you alright?”

“Alright? Oh yeah, I’m perfect fine. Everything is just _so_ wonderful,” Keith replied, acrid sarcasm coating his voice. “Of course _Lance_ of all people would already be engaged to some foreigner chick! What was I even thinking, believing that I had a chance?” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Keith.”

“Ha! And some high-class Northern Water Tribe girl to boot, this ‘Nyma.’ Of course Lance would be fucking straight. Why did I even bother thinking he was gay?”

“Keith,” Pidge repeated more firmly.

Keith scoffed at himself as he buried his face into his hands. “God, I am such a fucking idiot. Why did I even bother falling in love—“

“KEITH.” Pidge pushed away Keith’s hands, cupping his cheeks with their hands as they forced Keith to look at them in the eye. “Keith, kindly _shut the fuck up_ and just listen to me.”

Keith’s eyes were wide open from shock, but he obeyed. He pursed his lips and nodded.

Pidge sighed. “Keith, you’ve got to tell Lance the truth.”

“The truth?”

“Don’t play dumb with me right now. You know what I mean.”

Keith lowered his eyes, biting his bottom lip. “But he’s engaged right now, I can’t just—“

“Keith, Lance never gave the betrothal necklace yet, which means that the whole engagement and marriage thing isn’t set in stone. And either way, I’ve been telling you that bottling in all these secrets will get you nowhere.” They pulled Keith’s face inches before their own. “You’ve got to tell him everything. You’ve got to tell him that you’re the Red Lion. You’ve got to tell him about your feelings.”

Keith’s face fell. “But he’s going to find out that I’m _gay_ for him,” he protested.

Pidge drew their hands back and brought them back onto Keith’s cheeks with a loud slap. “Keith, that should be the _least_ of your problems right now. You and I both know that Lance isn’t the type to discriminate you just because of your sexuality.” They released their palms from Keith’s face as they whispered, “You love Lance, so don’t you ever be ashamed for it.”

Keith drew in his breath. “Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll tell him this Saturday,” he decided, “That will be my last time to meet with Lance as Red.” He smiled towards Pidge, his voice stronger with confidence, “Thanks, Pidge, for dealing with my shit.”

Pidge shrugged. “Hey, you helped me when I was coming out. This is the least that I can do.” They returned Keith’s smile. “I’m rooting for you, Kogane. You can do it.”

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so big revelation in the next chapter. I'm going to try really hard to make sure I don't screw it up haha
> 
> Once again, thank you so much for your support! To think that this series has 150+ kudos like holy frick  
> I'm going to try to binge as many chapters as possible before school starts on the 29th (so i've got like 6 days). After that, I will upload the chapters with a consistent schedule (I'm thinking Saturday nights).  
> Until then, please bear with me!


	7. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Big secret revealed for both Lance and Keith. Honestly, some of y'all guessed it in the comments and I got super nervous because I didn't know how to reply without giving spoilers rip  
> Of course the Galra come in to ruin everything though

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added in the "homophia" tag because now that I've developed more on the story, I think that it's going to play an important conflict role for the characters. Of course, I tagged it in since it's a trigger
> 
> Also it's literally past midnight so this is all beta

The week was almost unbearable; ever since the incident over the betrothal necklace occurred, Lance had avoided Keith in every way possible. When Lance arrived at the Bayard Enterprises warehouse to drop off his daily deliver, he would ignore Keith and promptly leave to return to Hunk’s Uncle’s restaurant. For the first three days, Keith remained silent of this, figuring that Lance needed time to recovery, but the whole thing was simply getting ridiculous. 

“Hunk,” Keith called as he approached the earthbender through the back door.

“Keith!” Hunk responded from behind the engine he had been working on. “This is new; do you have the day off? What’s up?”

“Yeah, I called in a sick day for a little break. Has Lance by any chance been talking to you lately?”

“Me?” Hunk said. “Well, yeah. I apologized to him a couple of days ago, so we’re cool now. Why?” His eyebrows furrowed. “Are you guys in a fight right now?”

“Honestly, I’m not even sure myself,” Keith admitted. “Since Sunday, when we met up here, he’s been giving me the silent treatment.”

Hunk hummed. “If I were you, I’d go talk to him.” He pointed his thumb to the warehouse entrance. “Lance just stopped by to drop off some grub for us. He should be outside right now, actually.”

“What?” Keith jerked his head towards the large doorway, seeing that Lance was indeed there, with Blue at his side. “Lance! Wait!” he yelled as he ran out to join him outside.

 Lance, who was fastening the metal delivery box onto the back of his motorcycle, twitched at the sound of his name. However, he continued to do his business, ignoring Keith entirely.

Keith let out an exasperated sigh, saying, “Lance, I know you heard me.”

More silence. Lance had begun to lock his helmet into place as he mounted himself onto the bike.

Keith grabbed onto Lance’s forearm.  “Why have you been avoiding me?” he demanded.

Lance gave him a long, sour look before breaking off into a scoff. “Avoiding you? So it looks like you got the memo of: you owe me an apology and an explanation.”

Keith frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t make me laugh. It’s not nice to go snoop around and steal other peoples’ junk, you know.”

“What? I didn’t steal anything!” Keith protested indignantly.

“Oh, really? Then how did you get _my_ pendant in _your_ hands?” Lance’s expression transitioned from anger to fatigue. “Keith, stop dicking around and just tell me the truth already.”

“Well, I—“ Keith stuttered before cutting himself off. He broke into a cold sweat; there was no way to fabricate an excuse for this. He bit his lip, looking away. “Look, I’m sorry about the whole thing but…” he trailed off.

Lance narrowed his eyes. “You lying asshole,” he spat curtly, turning his back towards Keith. Starting the engine of the motor, Lance accelerated on his ride, burying a helpless Keith in a cloud of dust.

 

\--

 

On the rooftop, Keith pulled over his mask, securing it on top of his face. Taking a deep breath, he bent over the edge, hanging his head upside down. Peering through the window, the Red Lion saw that Lance was hunched on his bed, his head hanging down as if he were deep in thought. The Lion knocked on the window frame with his knuckle. The sound surprised Lance, who flinched out of his thoughts. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes catching the Red Lion.

“Oh, hey…” Lance’s dull tone showed that he was still obviously upset from the events before.

The Red Lion pulled himself through the window, entering the bedroom. “Forgot about our last day?” He said, trying to fake a realistic, light-hearted voice.

Lance returned a shallow smile. “It’s been a rough week.” He began to force a bitter laugh. After his laughter died down, he spoke quietly, “I’m sorry. Could we just…do this another time?”

Peering over Lance, the Red Lion caught sight of a familiar gleam; inside Lance’s clenched hand was the betrothal necklace. Feeling a surge of frustration, he reached down to grab Lance’s fist.

“Get up,” he demanded, pulling Lance up with enough force to make him stumble from the sudden jerk. Lowering down, he grabbed onto Lance’s legs, once again carrying him bridal-style.

“What the hell, man!”

“Just pipe down and give me a chance to explain, okay?” Jumping out the window with Lance in his arms, he launched himself into the air using the flames bursting from the bottoms of his feet. He landed onto the next building, and then the next. “Look,” he said, “I didn’t mean for all this bullshit to happen. _I_ found that betrothal necklace or whatever on the ground when you dropped it last time, and _I_ was the one who wanted to return it to you.”

Lance looked up with his mouth gaped open. “ _You_ did?” He covered his mouth with his hands. “Holy shit-,then you must have been the one who gave it to Keith. And I called him shitty names and—“ he groaned as he moved his hands over his eyes.  “God, I fucked up so badly this time. I’ve got to apologize—“

“No,” the Red Lion interrupted, “There is nothing to apologize for.”

Lance looked up from his hands, his eyes widened in bewilderment. “What do you mean, ‘nothing to apologize for’? I called him a ‘lying asshole’ for crying out loud!”

“No! You don’t understand!” The Lion rocketed down into one of the alleys that trailed to the City Port, landing sharply as he almost dropped Lance onto the cement ground. Lance grunted at the sudden impact, but before he could fire a sharp retort, he stopped the moment he saw the Lion’s eyes. Though they still screamed bloody red like always, the life that had lit them so passionately had died down. The gentle crashes of ocean waves echoed through the alley.

“You’re right. I am a fucking liar,” the Lion’s voice cracked. “I should have just told you the truth from the beginning, who I _was_ , and yet I didn’t because I was a coward. I was so scared.” He brought his two hands to his head. “I was scared that you would hate me. That you would think I was just playing you. I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me. I was afraid that you would think everything I said, everything I did, was a lie. You’re so special, and I just didn’t want to lose, so I went along with the whole thing. Clearly, that was a failure,” his voice dropped to a hoarse whisper, “I’ve been horrible, and I jeopardized our friendship. I’m sorry for not trusting you the way you trusted me, Lance. You didn’t deserve it.”

Lance quietly rose to his feet. He gently placed his hands on the Red Lion’s mask; the Lion flinched from the touch, but stood ground, refusing to shy away from the contact. Lance peered into the mask, staring eye to eye with the Lion when—

“ _YOU!_ ”

Lance and the Lion both turned to see that Sendak, who was grinning menacingly in bloodlust. Behind him were two Galra who mirrored his facial expression.

Lance raised his hands in indignation. “Really? Did you _really_ have to interrupt our bonding moment?”

The Galra behind snickered as Sendak shook his head in disappointment. “Oh, how amusing Lord Zarkon would find this spectacle: the duo who managed to land Zen in prison. I’m sure our Lord would find it necessary in ridding the city of these two useless _faggots_.”

The Red Lion roared in fury, igniting his clenched fists into inferno.  With a running start, he leaped into the air, firing a flurry of flames in Sendak’s direction. “Fuck you!” he screamed violently. “Go to hell!”

Sendak quickly extinguished the flames with a swing of his arm, his lip curling into another smirk. “So I’ve angered the little Lion, haven’t I?”  He beckoned the Galra behind him to attack. The first Galra moved from behind Sendak, drawing liquid from his water skin. With a swift overhead motion, he directed the stream of water towards the Red Lion, who, in a whirling kick, evaporated the attack with a menacing _hiss_. The second Galra behind Sendak raised his foot in an attempt to earthbend, but was stunned to find that his feet had been shackled by ice.

Lance, who had uncapped his own water skin that clung to his side, had snuck the attack at the distracted Galra. Drawing more water from the container, Lance swirled the water around him into a miniature spiral. With a shove, he split the spiral into twin streams of water at the chests of the two Galra, sending them aback from the impact.

The Red Lion reeled back one foot, igniting it as he sent forth a blazing kick. The kick met Sendak’s forearm, sending the flames flying in multiple directions. Sendak was pushed back from the force, dust clouds building at the heels of his feet; he grinded his feet down into the ground, clenching his teeth as he endured the impact. With a snarl, he pushed away his forearm in attempt to knock the Lion off. The Red Lion back flipped in the air, gracefully landing on the ground before igniting a flame sword form his hand. In a swift sprint, he slashed the sword, barely missing the Galra’s head as he swung.

On the side, Lance was narrowly dodging the large chunks of rock hurled at him as he managed to control his water supply. Gathering the water into a sphere between his hands, he blasted a rush of water into the Galra earthbender, sending him crashing into the nearest wall. The water spread across the Galra’s body, hardening into a thick layer of ice that rendered him immobile. On the other hand, Lance slid across the ground, knocking the Galra waterbender off his feet. Lance overrode control of the Galra’s water, using his own chi to make it his own. With the water now in his possession, he circled the Galra with it, shackling his arms with bands of ice. The Galra, with the loss of his limbs, crashed into the ground, groaning.

The Red Lion, catching an opening in the frenzy of flame, reeled his open fist back in an attempt to send a flying punch on Sendak’s face. As he pushed his fist forward, it stopped, midway; Sendak had grasped his hand using an exceptionally large, metal gauntlet. The Red Lion gaped in shock, realizing that he could not free his hand from the powerful grip. Sendak grinned, his one exposed eye glistening in delight of his victory catch.

“Bye-bye, kitty.”

Practically crushing the Lion’s fist with the gauntlet, Sendak summoned a blast of lightning bolts and conducted it into the Red Lion’s body.

Cocking his head back, the Red Lion let out the most blood-curdling scream. He could feel his eyes roll back; the pain was _excruciating_ , as if his whole body were set on fire. His heart practically jumped from his chest, his muscles jolting from the sudden stabs of voltage lit through them.

When Sendak finally cut off the bolts of electricity from his hand, the Red Lion fell limp, dangling helplessly in the Galra’s grip.

Lance watched in utter horror; his earth-colored skin paled as he trembled in fear. “N-no…” he gasped as his voice cracked.

Sendak, satisfied by his reaction, grabbed the Red Lion by the collar, raising him so that he would be facing forward towards Lance. Lance’s face fell as he saw the Red Lion: fragments of the Red Lion’s mask had fallen off, and the black clothes he wore were in tatters. Within the holes of the cloth, streaks of red could be seen against the Lion’s pale skin.

Sendak threateningly held his armored hand close to the Lion’s neck as he licked his lips. “Perhaps you would like to see more of the light show?” he offered sadistically.

Lance’s fear transformed into pure anger. “Let him go!” he yelled, a vein showing at the temple of his head.

Sendak’s teeth widened as he flashed his teeth in amusement. He signaled with the cock of his head; several Galra emerged from the shadows, blocking the ends of the alleyway, and any means of escape. The Galra who Lance had trapped in ice were freed, joining their comrades as they circled a frozen Lance.

“You’re a pathetic weakling. A shame to the Galra,” Sendak taunted as his gauntlet inched closer and closer to the Red Lion’s neck.

Lance collapsed onto his knees. “Please…stop. Don’t touch him,” he pleaded.

“You’re powerless. Spineless. A pathetic excuse in the eyes of our Lord, Zarkon.”

Lance’s hands locked themselves onto his head. “Stop it. I’m begging you.”

“You are so weak that you cannot even protect your own _boyfriend_.” Sendak mockingly sang the word _boyfriend_ as his gauntlet brushed against the Red Lion’s skin.

Lance’s trembling fingers grabbed fistfuls of his hair as his breathing became uneven and haggard. “No,” he rasped in a shaking whimper. “No, no, no, no…”

“And best of all,” Sendak wrapped his hand along the Red Lion’s chin, “You will have the honor of watching him _die_.”

“NO!”

Lance’s cry echoed in the alleyway, followed by a deafening silence. The Galra exchanged glances at each other, asking why Sendak had not electrocuted the boy yet. They quieted once they heard their leader gasp.

Sendak’s face was contorted into a hue of purplish-blue; the veins on his neck and face popped out visibly, as if he were being suffocated. Foam built up at the corner of his mouth, his body trembling as his head was forced back. The sounds of bones crackling could be heard every time Sendak struggled to move a single body part. “W-what—“ he managed to wheeze.

Lance slowly rose to his feet. When he lifted his head, a dark, toothy grin formed at the corner of his lips. His bloodshot, blue eyes were tainted what seemed like insanity written in his shrunken pupils. He cocked his head back, looking at the Galra members behind him. His grin broke into laughter; Lance raised his open hand and aggressively clamped it into a fist. In front of him, Sendak’s head jolted backwards as he coughed up, his eyes rolling back. A trickle of blood flowed from his mouth.

Sendak’s tight grip on the Red Lion immediately fell loose; the Red Lion collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath as he balanced himself on all fours.

Lance directed Sendak’s limp body with a swing of the wrist, catapulting it into a Galra behind him. The Galra surrounding stuttered nervously:

“He can _bloodbend_?”

“But there is no full moon!”

“How can this be?”

Lance snickered at the rising panic in the voices of the Galra. Raising his hands, he caught the chi of the Galra surrounding him, feeling the water in their blood pulse within their bodies. The pulse of their hearts, the _fear_ in their eyes as they felt their self-control slip into his hands…It was all just too amusing. With a swirl, Lance pushed the air, sending the Galra crashing into the walls and onto the ground. The blood that the Galra had coughed up splattered onto the ground. Trembling in fear, the Galra scrambled to escape, slipping on their feet and they tried to escape the alley like mice. The Galra who had been attacked by Sendak’s lifeless body tried to drag him out of the alleyway, walking unsteadily as he did so. “You…you are a _monster_!”  the Galra spat while attempting to make his escape. "Lord Zarkon will hear of this!"

Lance cackled in laughter. "Lord Zarkon _my ass_." He positioned himself to bloodbend the limping Galra, but before he could do so, his arm was caught by another. Frowning, he turned to see the Red Lion, who was clinging onto his arm with all his strength.

“What are you doing?” Lance hissed. “Let go!”

“No!” The Red Lion tightened his arms around Lance’s. “Lance, you’ve done enough. Don’t do this.”

Lance shook off the Red Lion, pushing him away. “Don’t you realize?” he asked zealously. “This is the respect and authority Lance _always_ desired! That coward always restrained himself from reaching the potential to even make his biggest dreams come true!”

The Red Lion choked as he felt his body succumb to Lance’s command. With an upward movement, Lance raised the Red Lion into the air; the Lion struggled and winced as he tried to free himself from Lance’s grasp. “Y-you’re not Lance!” he gasped. “Lance would never do that!”

“Hah! Then it looks like you didn’t know him enough. _I_ was always there, watching this sorry body get beat up and torn down by pathetic people every day. Do you know how _irritating_ it was to watch him be pushed around and being able to do absolutely _nothing_?” He clicked his tongue. “Now that Lance has locked himself away, I can finally take over this body once and for all.” He slowly clenched his fist; the Red Lion struggled for air as he felt his lungs close into him. As he jerked his head back, the cracked mask that had clung to his face fell to the gravel, shattering into large pieces of ceramic.

Lance’s eyes widened: it was Keith.

Keith felt himself fall onto the ground as he regained control of his body. Panting, he saw that Lance had buried his face into his hands, sweat speckled on his skin.

“No..! Stop resisting!” Lance’s muscles jerked in sporadic directions as he struggled in his internal conflict. “Y-you could have so much power! Why are you doing this?” he gasped. “I-I am a part of you, now! You can’t escape! I _will_ come back, and I swear, I will—“ he broke off, his neck twisting back. Exhaling a long breath with closed eyes, Lance slowly brought his head forward. When he opened his eyes, he looked down at his hands. On the cement floor, spots of fresh blood were scattered like a mosaic. When he glanced up at Keith, who was wiping the blood that trickled down the corner of his lip with his back hand, his eyes widened even more. He clasped his hands over his mouth, falling onto his knees.

“I-I did it again…” he whispered. “Oh, god…”

“Lance? Is that you?” Keith managed to say as he approached the waterbender.

Lance shook his head. “Keith, don’t come any closer.” His voice was heavy with guilt.

Keith ignored Lance’s plea and continued to walk closer.

Lance’s face twisted in frustration. “Keith, did you not just hear what I said? Stay away from me!”

“No,” Keith replied quietly. “I don’t care.”

Lance felt his face crumple; He pursed his lips as he tried to hold back his tears. “Didn’t you hear what the Galra said?” He sobbed. “It’s not safe to be near a bloodbender like me.” He gave Keith a defeated look.

“No,” Keith replied more firmly, kneeling in front of Lance.

Tears began to spill onto Lance’s cheeks. “Yes, you do,” he said. “I almost _killed_ you. I…I’m a fucking _monster_.”

Keith shook his head in denial. “Lance, no you aren’t.”

“How can you be so sure?!” Lance protested, practically screaming.

Keith smiled softly despite Lance’s outburst, shaking his head again. “Because if you were a monster,” he said while cupping Lance’s cheeks, “I wouldn’t be doing _this._ ” He brought his lips onto Lance’s.

Lance initially struggled before succumbing to the kiss. Even though their lips were chapped and bleeding, and Lance was practically sobbing into Keith’s mouth, the two continued, only to break apart to breath. Lance’s crystal blue eyes stared into Keith’s amber red ones, star struck. Keith affectionately wiped away Lance’s tears away with his thumbs.

“You’re not a monster,” Keith corrected him, “You’re Lance. And the Lance that I love has a big heart. He’s a fucking amazing waterbender and healer. He loves to ride bikes and screams like a girl. He adores kids, and he always lives life to the fullest. He’s like a hero that will always fight for what he thinks is right. He has the most stupid sense of humor, with the dorkiest laugh and smiles…” Keith began to laugh, his eyes crinkling as tears streamed down his face. “And you being a bloodbender doesn’t change any of that.” He wiped away his tears with the back of his hand. “Lance, I _want_ to learn more about you. Even _that_ side,” he pointed at Lance’s brain, "because I want to learn to love 'him,' too." Lifting his forehead away from Lance, his eyes widened as he became flustered by his monologue.

“Oh, wait, shit-I know that you probably had someone else in mind with the whole betrothal necklace thing, so don’t feel forced to return my feelings or anything—“ Keith stuttered before cutting himself off midsentence. Taking a deep breath, he said, “You know what, fucking scratch that. Lance, I am _absolutely_ in love with you.”

Lance, despite trying to stabilize his sobs, broke into a fit of laughter. He managed to flash his classic, cocky grin. “Ha! Way to kill the mood. I was never in love with Nyma, anyway," he shrugged. "And besides, you love me!” Lance sang.

Keith blushed red at Lance's words

“You _love_ me!” Lance repeated.

“Shut up,” Keith muttered, embarrassed, "You don't have to repeat that."

Lance dove in to peck the vulnerable Keith on the cheek. Keith flushed an even darker shade of red that spread to the tips of his ears.

 Lance flashed a toothy smile. “And I love you, too!” He added gleefully.

Keith rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but smile back; this was definitely the old Lance again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, the story is far from over lmao. There are still a couple of chapters left for Book 1 that will answer even more things.  
> Hopefully I closed the Red Lion arc pretty well, at least. After finishing chapter 6, I was like "I NEED TO WRITE CHAPTER 7" and now it's 1:30 in the morning.  
> Action scenes are still not exactly my forte, but I don't think I gave enough details to make a gore tag (let me know in the comments if I should though). and of course, the langst.
> 
> At least Keith and Lance finally confess 7 chapters later.


	8. Overnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Shiro gets to play a bigger role in this book.  
> Shiro being dad again while Keith says "fuck the police"  
> Keith's past is revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, this is beta af  
> Also it's like 2 in the morning and I really have to go to sleep

Lance and Keith nervously exchanged glances as they fidgeted in their seats. Keith caught sight of Lance’s hands, which were twiddling their thumbs as they rested on his thighs under the table; with his own hand, he placed it onto Lance’s, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Before them, Shiro massaged the bridge of his nose just below his furrowed eyebrows.

“Lance, a few nights ago,” Shiro began in a low voice, “what did I tell you exactly _not_ to do?”

Lance looked down at his hands. “Not run into the Galra.”

“And what did you do?”

Lance bit his lip. “Run into the Galra.”

After fighting off the Galra, and the whole romantic “bonding moment” between Lance and Keith, it was no surprise that residents around the port began to fire endless phone-call reports of “neighborhood ruckus” in the middle of the night. When Shiro and the Metalbending Police Force had arrived to the scene, he was the first to find Lance and Keith in the alley; in that moment, he was able to distract his comrades into searching in another area (though that was technically an abuse of power in his position). Thankfully, with Shiro’s towering physique, carrying the two boys to the nearest police mobile was no difficult task.

The car ride had been a deafening silence; Shiro did not speak a word during the entire ride, and neither did Lance nor Keith. It was not until Shiro had closed his office door at the Police Headquarters did he speak up.

Shiro sighed, moving his hand to rub the back of his neck. “Lance, I warned you before, and this is your third strike. I have no choice but to call your parents.”

Lance’s eyes widened as he leaped from his seat. “No!” he protested. “You can’t!”

“And why not? Lance, enough is enough; you’ve endangered your life for too long, and as a police officer and your friend, I cannot allow this to progress any further.” Shiro’s eyebrows loosened as his fell into worry. He slid a piece of parchment and a pen on the table in front of Lance. “Lance, please. Just let me do this for you.”

Lance shook his head. “Shiro, I know you care for me, and don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it a lot, but,” he shut his eyes tightly as he clenched his fists, “no. I can’t.”

Keith rose from his seat, using one arm to intercept between Lance and Shiro. “Shiro, Lance didn’t do anything wrong.” He swallowed hard before confessing, “Everything is my fault, not his.”

Lance opened his mouth to protest, but Shiro had already averted his full attention onto Keith. “Go on; I’m listening,” Shiro said carefully.

Keith drew a sharp breath. “I was the one who constantly put Lance in danger while I fought the Galra. I’m sorry.” Reaching inside his pocket, he drew out one shard that he had saved from his shattered Lion mask. He tossed the fragment onto the table.

Shiro picked up the shard with his metal prosthetic, examining it closely. His eyes widened as he recognized what it was. “I thought I was just hallucinating again the other night,” he said quietly before placing it back onto the table. He pursed his lips. “Keith, you don’t have to fight this battle alone. I told you before that Chief would gladly hire someone as talented as you. You’d be a fantastic investigator.”

Keith scoffed. “Police, _my ass_. They’re the last people I want to work with in this.”

“But it is much safer than going out in the middle of the night like you had!”

“So, what? I’d rather _die_ than work with the likes of you!”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed. He moved forward to touch Keith’s shoulder. “Keith, please just give us a chance, “he began, only to be cut off as Keith aggressively slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch me!” he yelled angrily. “Join the police? Don’t make me laugh!” He slammed his fist into the table, causing its legs to shake. Both Lance and Shiro flinched from the outburst. “You remember what happened that night, don’t you? Oh, that my mother was as ‘Galra spy’ who ‘had to be eliminated.’ You all accused of her for something she didn’t even do, and what happened? The ‘defenders of the city’, yeah, the heroes that _everybody_ look up to? They killed her! And you expect _me_ to join _them_?” Keith raised his fist and beat Shiro’s chest plate in one fell swoop. He trembled, lowering his head as he pressed his forehead again Shiro’s chest. With a shaky breath, he whispered, “Shiro, I’m sorry, but you know damn well as I do that this just isn’t going to work.”

Lance sucked in his breath, looking down at his feet. While he damn sure wanted to say something, he knew that it wasn’t his battle to fight; holding back his tongue, he peered at Shiro’s face.

Shiro’s expression was painfully pitiful—a face one would never expect out of a giant man such as he. His eyes were softened and reddening, as if he were trying to hold back his tears. He wrapped his hand around Keith’s, which still rested on top of his chest plate.

“Keith…I’m so sorry. I should have never invalidated your feelings like that, and it was wrong of me to try to force you into this against your own will.” He rubbed his thumb comfortingly against a sobbing Keith’s knuckles, using his prosthetic to rub Keith’s back as he rested his chin on Keith’s head. After a deep breath, he said gently, “Jieun was never a criminal, let alone a person evil enough to work for the Galra. When…when the other officers took you away from her, she grabbed my hand.” Shiro’s eyes clouded with nostalgia. “Do you know what she said to me?”

“To take care of me,” Keith responded as he mumbled into Shiro’s chest.

 Shiro tilted his head, clicking his tongue. “Mm, not quite,” he murmured. “You were close. Do you remember her exact words?”

Keith shook his head.

“She said… ‘Take care of my little lion for me, will you?’”

Upon hearing this, Keith let out another sob—almost a wail. He clutched his chest with his open hand.

Shiro tightened his grip on Keith’s hand.  He pleaded, “Don’t you see? Jieun wanted you to live so much, even though she knew she couldn’t be there for you. She _loved_ you, Keith. Jieun _cared_ about you.” He raised Keith’s head. “ _I_ care about you.” Shiro, still holding his tears back, gave a shaky smile. “Please don’t do this anymore, okay? Don’t endanger your life like this anymore. Please. For her and for me.”

Keith swallowed before nodding his head. “Okay,” he decided. “I’ll stop being the Red Lion.”

 

\--

 

“Are you sure you boys don’t need a lift?” Shiro asked as he followed Keith and Lance out the Headquarter doors. Keith waved his hand as he descended down the front steps.

“No,” he said, “I think we’ll be good. Thanks, anyway.” Lance did not respond.

Shiro nodded. “Alright, then. Be sure to rest as soon as you get home, and no fooling around, okay?” And with that, he turned to re-enter the building.

Lance frowned as his eyes followed Shiro’s back. “Does Shiro ever even sleep?”

Keith shook his head. “Nah. He’s kind of a workaholic, and he has a really bad case of insomnia.”

“Is it okay to leave him like that?”

“Yeah,” Keith glanced at his wristwatch, “Matt should be at the HQ soon to drag Shiro’s ass to bed for us, anyway.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Lance tried to match his pace with Keith’s as they walked through the streets. Without thinking, he blurted, “You’re pretty close to Shiro, aren’t you?”

Keith frowned. “Yeah, why?”

“No reason,” Lance replied bluntly before looking away in embarrassment.

Keith hummed in amusement. “What, are you jealous?”

“No!” Lance denied, flustered. He then added quietly, “okay, maybe a little. But _only_ a little!”

Keith chuckled, causing Lance to blush even harder than before. “You know, Lance, it’s getting pretty late. How about we just head to my place? I’ll explain everything there. Deal?”

“I-I—“ Lance stuttered, only to have his arm tugged by Keith as they turned around the corner.

 

 

“Home sweet home, I guess,” Keith announced awkwardly as he unlocked the door.

Keith’s place was located in Dragon Flats Borough, a primarily nonbender neighborhood within the city. Lance couldn’t help but noticed the distinct difference between it and the inner city; the lights were significantly dimmer, the atmosphere cold and without the warm, lively feeling like before. As they approached the apartment building, Lance noticed Keith’s mother’s motorcycle resting on its side, chained to a bike stand. As they climbed up the steps onto the second floor balcony, the staircase moaned eerily underneath.

The one-room apartment was tiny and actually kind of cute; it housed the basic essentials like a bathroom, bed, and table, but it was relatively simple. Empty cans of beer were stacked in one corner of the room, while a stack of books sat in another. Piles of clothes built up near the table, which Keith subtly kicked away. On the ceiling hung a long punching bag, where underneath was an array of weights. Keith approached the center of the room, where he tugged on the string that would switch on the ceiling light.

“Sorry. It’s kind of messy,” Keith mumbled, embarrassed as he carried away the empty beer cans and cup noodle containers from the wooden table.

Lance bent down to help him out, opening one of the garbage bags located near the sink as Keith dumped the trash inside. “You know, if my mom saw this, she would have beaten your ass into the Spirit World, right?” he joked.

After cleaning the table, the two settled down on opposite sides of the table, sitting on the burgundy-colored seat cushions on the floor. Keith had placed two beers on top of the table. He popped one can open, taking a huge gulp. He nudged the other can towards Lance’s direction.

“Want one?”

 “What is it?”

“Don’t fucking tell me you don’t know what beer is.”

“Excuse you, I’ve had plenty of beer!” Lance pouted. “I just didn’t recognize this brand, is all.” He opened the can, drinking a gulp equal to Keith’s, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he let out a loud _fwaah_.  He beamed a flashy grin. “How’s that for you?” he challenged.

Keith smiled in amusement. “Not bad,” he hummed, taking another sip.

A stiff silence blew between the two before Lance finally said, “I didn’t want to ask you earlier because of…” he cleared his throat. “It’s probably none of my business, anyway, sorry.”

Keith shook his head. “No, it’s cool. I wouldn’t have said the things I said if I didn’t trust you.” He hummed as he leaned back. “Just so you know, Shiro and I have nothing going on. At least, not anymore.”

Lance frowned. “Not anymore?”

“Yeah. I did have romantic feelings towards Shiro, but that died pretty quickly. He has his eyes reserved for Matt Holt.”

Lance choked on his beer, sending droplets flying. Coughing, he sputtered, “ _Matt Holt_? As in Pidge’s _brother_?”

Keith nodded. “Yep. The one and only.” He tilted his head to the side while frowning. “You didn’t know? I thought everyone knew—except they themselves, of course.”

Lance brought his hand against his forehead. “I had no clue…”

Keith smirked at the mind-blown Lance before returning back to his story. “I told you about how I’ve been an orphan since I was ten, right? And how my mother died and how my father left us.”

Lance bit his lip, recalling the incident. “Yeah, but you didn’t tell me that your mom was straight-up murdered,” he replied dryly.

“Because she wasn’t murdered, though I think the police had a hell of a lot to do with her death.” Keith sighed. “She committed suicide in the Republic City prison not long after her arrest.” He traced his neck with the tips of his fingers, imitating the rope tied to one’s neck when they…

Lance swallowed hard. “I think I get the picture,” he croaked.

Keith nodded as he removed his hand from his neck. He looked down at the can in his hand. “After Mother passed, I didn’t have any family to take care of me. That’s when Shiro came in; he had his family foster me, where I stayed with them until last year, when I moved out to be more…independent.” He closed his eyes. “Shiro was there during the raid in taking away Mother. He wasn’t exactly a high-ranking officer since he was only seventeen at the time, but he was enough to be a part of the arrest.”

“Oh,” Lance murmured as he put the pieces together. _No wonder Shiro felt so guilty before…_

Another question flew into Lance’s mind. “Keith, why do you care so much about the Galra?” he asked.

“The Galra?” Keith’s eyes narrowed in thought. “Whatever thing my mother got accused of, the Galra had something to do with it,” his hand began to crush the now-empty can, “and I need answers. I just want to know that whether or not Mother had something to do with the Galra, I just hope her death wasn’t in vain.” He sighed, placing the deformed can onto the table.

Lance rose from his seat and settled next to Keith. With his hand, he brushed away the dark bangs that cloaked Keith’s face, swiping them to the side.  Stroking Keith’s face gently, Lance said, “I don’t know how you feel, honestly, because I’ve never been in your shoes. I don’t know what it’s like to not have blood-related family, or deal with shit about the Galra daily. Even so,” he smiled, “thanks for telling me this. I really, really appreciate it.”

Keith smiled back, only for his face to fall. “I’m not as free as you thought, huh?”

Lance clicked his tongue. “Maybe not, even though I still think you’re pretty fucking cool.”

“Aw, you think I’m cool?” Keith cooed.

Lance rolled his eyes, ignoring Keith’s teasing. He removed his hand from Keith’s check and formed a hook with his pinky finger. He looked at Keith expectantly. “Well? Where’s your pinky?”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious, right now? Aren’t ‘pinky-promises’ for kids half our age?”

Lance pouted. “Just get your pinky on here already.”

Keith obeyed, though still hesitant. “What are we promising for?” he asked.

Lance hummed. “Now that we both know that you’re not free, and that I’m not free, how about this? Our mission: we’re going to find freedom together. How does that sound?”

“That sounds lame. And cheesy,” Keith remarked. Before Lance could retort, Keith added, “But I’m game.” Interlocking his pinky with Lance’s, he shook as if they were shaking hands.

Lance smiled as he stared distractedly at their pinkies. Keith unhooked is pinky from Lance’s, grabbing Lance’s hand as he reeled him in for a kiss. Lance’s eyes flew wide open in shock, but he eventually closed them as he tried to match his movements with Keith. When they finally broke apart, both saw that the other was flushed pink. Keith licked his lips and looked up at Lance. He murmured, “So…are we going to do it?”

Lance, while still red, frowned. “Do what?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “You know. _That_.” When he saw Lance’s head tilt to the side in confusion, he sputtered, “Isn’t that what you came into my room for? Wait, do you even _know_ what’s going on right now?”

Lance shrugged as he shook his head, completely clueless.

Keith gapped at amazement over Lance’s innocence. With a sigh of defeat, he rose and collapsed onto his futon face-front. His head buried into the pillow, he mumbled, “Fuck it. Forget I said anything.” The tips of his ears were a brilliant red. Upon hearing rustling beside him, Keith turned to his side, noticing that Lance had joined him on the mattress.

“W-What are you doing?” he stuttered.

“I’m gonna go to sleep,” Lance yawned. He tugged the sheets that Keith laid on. “C’mon. It’s been a long night, and it’s like 2 in the morning right now. I’m going to need my beauty sleep, and so do you.”

Keith, still red, rose so that the covers could blanket both he and Lance. The futon was too small for two; Keith was still on the futon with his head rested on the pillow, while Lance was on the floor with his head rested on his arm.

Keith shifted towards the end of the mattress. “Lance? There’s some room over here. Get on the bed.”

“Huh? Oh. Sure.Okay,” Lance said, his voice cracking slightly. More rustling could be heard as Lance headed towards the center of the mattress. “Thanks.”

Both boys had their backs facing each other as they rested on their sides. Keith looked over his shoulder to look at Lance, who still slept facing away. Adjusting his position, Keith faced Lance, where he rested his forehead on Lance’s back as he wrapped his arms around Lance’s torso, feeling the warmth come from Lance’s body. Lance flinched before loosening slightly to Keith’s touch. Content and comfortable, Keith felt his eyes begin to flutter.

“Hey, Lance?” he mumbled.

Lance jumped again at the sound of Keith’s voice before stuttering, “W-what?”

Keith chuckled as he nuzzled further into Lance’s back. He poked at Lance’s back to where his heart would be located. “Tell your heart to pipe down, will you?” He could feel himself drift into slumber. "Thanks..."

Meanwhile, Lance had to count the number of stars peeking form the apartment window as he desperately tried to calm the rapid thumping of his beating heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Lance is as virgin as virgin olive oil, so he doesn't know much when it comes to picking up hints sometimes. He probably would've lost his virginity back at home, but what girl would want to knowing that he was a bloodbender rip  
> Lance is really good at holding his liquor though (probably better than Keith actually)  
> Also, yes, Shiro x Matt ("shatt") is a ship in this series besides Klance.
> 
> Also, Jieun means branch for the most part in Korean. I found it suiting as Keith's mom's name because Keith means wood.


	9. A Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contract renewal! Keith has to make up for the night 3 date failure in the future now.  
> Probending is finally introduced after 3000 years and guess who the team members are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beta'd the life outta this but grammar errors probably exist rip  
> Edit: I won't be able to update on Saturday because I'll be off to Europe for a week, so I'll probably just upload two chapters to compensate idk

The Sunday morning light was seeping through the apartment window’s curtains when Keith had woken up. The sharp whistling of a pot could be heard from the other side of the room. He rose from the mattress, rubbing the back of his neck as he yawned before glancing at the spot beside him. Lance was not beside him on the futon like before, and the spot on the mattress had faint traces of warmth. Looking around, he saw Lance in the kitchen area, his back facing him.

 “Rise and shine, mullet man,” Lance called from the sink, looking over his shoulder. “Your hair looks like a hot mess.” He laughed at the random strands of hair poking from Keith’s head.

Keith scoffed at Lance’s remark, but was too distracted by the meal set on the table at the center of the room to fire a retort.

 Lance gently set a steaming bowl of rice, the grains white and fluffy. Beside the bowl was a small plate of vegetables, along with tamagos neatly stacked on top of another plate. A pair of chopsticks and a spoon waited for Keith. He could feel his mouth water as he gazed at the meal.

Lance raised an eyebrow at Keith’s silence. “What? You don’t like eggplant?” he teased.

Keith shook his head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just…I haven’t seen a simple home meal like this in ages. I actually forgot I even had that stuff in the fridge.”

“What? This isn’t even that hard to make. What the hell have you been living off of?”

“…Instant ramen and convenience store bentos.”

Lance placed his palm on his forehead. “What am I going to do with you,” he muttered. He picked up the chopsticks off of the table, and, grabbing a tamago, pointed it towards Keith. “Here. Ahhhh.”

Keith frowned. “Are you fucking serious right now?”

“Just eat the damn egg, Kogane.” Lance pouted before breaking into another grin. “Now, let’s try again, shall we?” he prompted. “Say ‘ahhh’.”

Letting out a defeated sigh, Keith repeated with a hesitant, “Ah” before accepting the egg into his mouth. The taste was wonderful—juicy and fresh, unlike the rubbery eggs from those crappy bentos at the corner store. Indulging in the taste as he chewed, Keith closed his eyes, only to reminiscence a familiar memory he had not seen in years; his mother, too, would also make simple breakfasts like this. Keith choked at the sudden thought, entering into a coughing fit. Tears began to well up in his eyes.

Lance raced to the counter and brought back a glass of cool water for Keith to drink. “I mean, I know my cooking isn’t the greatest, but it can’t be that bad, can it?” he said, concerned.

Again, Keith shook his head as he chugged the water. “No. I just happened to remember something about my mom, so it caught me off-guard for a second. It’s nothing big though.” Keith wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand, clearing his throat before giving a reassuring smile. “The egg was really good, anyway.” He motioned Lance with his hand. “Hand over the chopsticks.”

As Keith wolfed down the meal, Lance watched, feeling satisfied by Keith’s reaction. Still, there was something that bothered him…

“Keith?”

“Hm?” Keith mumbled, his mouth full.

Lance swallowed hard. “I know that the other night was pretty—“  he coughed—“ Anyway, it was supposed to be our third night of the deal. The deal’s over now, so I can give you back your knife later today, if you want.”

“Not a chance.”

“’Not a’—Keith! What do you mean, ‘not a chance’?” Lance sputtered at Keith’s blunt response. “Isn’t that knife important to you?”

Keith lowered the rice bowl from his lips. “The knife is important to me, yeah, since it’s from my mother. But I didn’t even fulfil my part of the deal properly.” He pointed his chopsticks inches away from Lance’s face. “My pride isn’t going to let me live it down; I’ll just lose all my honor. I’ll make up night three for you, so until then, hold onto the knife like always. Got it?”

Lance opened his mouth in protest, but slowly closed it in defeat.  However, he couldn’t dismiss the growing feeling of guilt.

Keith, sensing Lance’s uncertainty, bent over to ruffle the waterbender’s brown hair, which was already in all directions from sleep. “Seriously; don’t worry about it. Okay?”

Lance released his bite on his lips and nodded his head. “Okay.”

 

\--

 

“Thank you all for coming,” Lance announced in a supposedly serious voice.

Lance was standing on a stool, while Pidge, Hunk, and Keith were seated at the restaurant table in front of him. Days before, Lance had announced that the four of them would gather at Ba Sing Se Noodles for a “team meeting” on Friday night; aside from Hunk, Pidge and Keith had absolutely no clue why they were summoned for it.

“You’re lucky that you guys are giving me free food. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here,” Pidge commented sassily as they bit into a bean bun.

Lance ignored Pidge, descending from the stool with exaggerated sophistication. “Listen up,” he said, “I may have run away from home, almost been socked by the Galra three times in less than am month, and been scolded by our unbiological father, Takashi Shirogane. But no matter. I am in the world that I love. And with the assistance of my boy, Hunk-“

Hunk bowed. “My liege.”

“I begin tonight’s meeting.” He turned his head to Hunk and whispered, “Belly roll.”

Hunk, on cue, began to drum his stomach with his hands as Lance reached his hand from his pants pocket. Dramatically, he whipped out a folded piece of paper, which opened into a giant flyer.

 “Are you fucking for real?” Pidge almost spat out their food. Even Keith’s eyes widened in surprise, untangling his previously folded arms as he slammed his hands against the table.

The poster in Lance’s hand depicted a dramatic, flat-color design of three benders—earth, water and fire—in probender uniform. Rays of sunlight shown in lines behind the three, who were all in battle stance with their respective elements whirling around them in action. In bold, the paper read: ACCEPTING NEW PROBENDING TEAMS FOR THE SEASON. DEBUT TRYOUTS THIS SUNDAY.

Lance’s lips curled into a mischievous grin. “Would I ever joke about this?”

Keith leaned back against the chair and sighed. “Lance, you are absolutely _insane_.”

“What?!” Lance cried in an exaggerated matter. “Why not? We’ve already got a full team right here!” Lance pointed at himself with his thumb. “Here’s a badass waterbending pro-“ he direct his thumb to Hunk’s direction—“and an earthbender, to boot!” He transitioned his thumb into his pointer finger as he pointed at Keith. “And now all we need is a firebender.”

Keith’s eyebrows shot up. “ _Hunk?_ _You_ agreed to this?” Hunk was the last person Keith expected to do to this; with his internship and his bashful, pacifist-like nature, Hunk agreeing to the whole fiasco was no doubt a surprise.

Hunk scratched his cheek shyly. “I’m not exactly the best earthbender in the world,” he admitted, “but I still think it’ll be a good learning experience for brushing out my skills. And besides!” he pointed out, “it’ll be even more fun with you guys around, too.”

Keith shook his head, waving his hands in a “stop” gesture. “No, this isn’t going to work. You do realize that having a probending means there’s a participation fee, right? None of us can afford _that_.”

Pidge cleared their throat. “I think I can cover that part for you guys.” They shifted their glasses up their nose, the lens catching the glare of the light bulb above. “If I can get Dad to sponsor the team, you won’t have to worry about the money.”

“Oh hell no, Pidge, not you, too.”

“Think about it!” They protested. “If you guys do happen to not flunk out and so happen to do well, it’ll be really good for promoting business. I thought it was crazy, too, but this might actually work.” They nodded at Lance. “I’m in.”

Keith covered his face with the palms of his hands. “That’s it; you guys are dead to me. Every single one of you, and especially you, Lance.”

“Oh, come on!” Lance walked over to pull Keith hands away. He separated them from the rest of the group. From afar, he could hear Pidge and Hunk chatter away how the two argued like an old couple. Ignoring their comments, he focused his eyes on Keith.

“Keith,” he said in a low voice, “What’s the problem?”

Keith scoffed. “You’re asking the wrong guy for this. I’m not good working in groups, and you know I work alone.”

“Keith, you’re the best bender I know—someone who is actually on par with me! Not to mention, you probably know more about probending than all of us. Wasn’t this your dream when you were a kid?”

“W-what!” Keith stuttered. “T-that was when I was a kid. It’s been over ten years.”

“Uh-huh,” Lance narrowed his eyes. “You know you’re really bad at lying, right? You clearly haven’t given up on that dream yet.”

Keith looked away. “Find another firebender who can actually be a team player,” he retorted.

“Keith, all of us—me, Pidge, and Hunk—want _you_ to be on the team, and no one else. It _has_ to be.” Lance pleaded, his eyes glistened like that of a puppy as he tightened his grip on Keith's hands. “Please, Keith, just give it a shot. For me?”

Keith flinched at the pitiful look. He felt his feelings begin to sway. “Well…” he trailed.

Lance let out a celebratory whoop as he raised his hands into the air. “All right! He said yes!”

“What?! I didn’t say yes—“ but it was too late. Behind Lance, Hunk cheered a loud "woohoo" as Pidge broke into a wide grin. Keith massaged the bridge of his nose. “That idiot…” he murmured, though he could help but smile a little. _Just_ a little.

Lance whirled around, stretching his arm before him. Hunk and Pidge followed, their hands overlapping one another. The three looked up expectantly at Keith, inviting him to join them.

Keith, sighing and smiling, placed his hand in the middle of the middle. The four cheered, “Yeah!” as they, in sync, raised their hands into the air. Their cry was followed by an awkward silence as their arms were in mid-air.

“So, uh…” Hunk interrupted, “am I the only one thinking that we need a team name?” The other three sighed.

“Every probending team _does_ need a fauna mascot,” Pidge said thoughtfully. “Any ideas?”

“Oh! Oh! How about ‘the Fire Ferrets’!” Hunk suggested.

Lance scoffed. “Nononono, man, that’s sounds lame. How about ‘the Polar dogs!”

Pidge shook their head. “Can’t. There’s already a team named that.”

“The Otter Penguins? The Sea Lions?” Lance suggested.

“Rejected.”

Lance flopped onto the chair to his left. “Welp! Then I got nothin’.”

 “The ‘Sea Lions’ isn’t a bad one; I like the sound of ‘lion’.” Pidge rested their chin on their hand. “I know that my dad would always talk about the story about the four Lion turtles from generations ago, like those nursery rhymes and stuff. Maybe we can work off of that…” They shook their head as they brushed off the idea, mumbling, “No, wait. It would be disrespectful to use them as our mascot. Scratch that.”

“What are you four up to so late?”

The four jumped at the new voice and looked at the entrance of the restaurant. Shiro and Matt both entered that rough, their entrance announced by the chime of the doorbell. The two had clearly arrived to pick up Pidge and drive them home. Pidge rose from their seat, greeting their brother and friend with a hug.

“Hey, Shiro. Matt. “Hunk nodded as he greeted them. “We’re coming up with names for our probending team.”

“Probending team?” Shiro said, surprised.

Lance jumped to latch both Hunk and Keith around the necks. “Yeah! We’re going to be in the competition this Sunday," he explained excitedly, "We’ve got the team, but not the team name, though…”

“Lance suggested the Sea Lions, but the rest of us aren’t really feeling for it,” Pidge added. "We wanted to keep up with the 'lion' theme, but we haven't come up with any other ideas."

Shiro hummed thoughtfully. “How about ‘the Flying Lions?’”

“Flying lion? What kind of animal is that?” Lance asked.

“Oh!” Hunk piped up. He moved his hands as if he tried to sculpt the animal in the air. “They’re like these huge animals that have the front half body of a lion, and then the rest of their body has wings and bird feet. They sometimes fly around when you head to the boundary between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. They come in different sizes and colors, but the biggest and the fastest are dubbed the ‘Red Lions.'”

“The Red Lion…” Lance mumbled to himself. He glanced at Keith, only to find that the firebender avoided his gaze, blushing at the tips of his ears in slight embarrassment at the revelation of meaning behind his alias his mother lovingly nicknamed him.  

Lance felt a smile crawl onto his lips. He hummed. “Huh. ‘The Flying Lions.’” His mouth parted as he gave a toothy beamed. “I like it.”

Pidge nodded in approval. “It has a nice ring to it,” they commented.

Hunk pumped the air with his fists. “Yeah! The Flying Lions!” he hooted. Lance cheered beside him, joining in a dorky, celebratory dance; the two laughed as they did so. Pidge grabbed their brother’s hands, jumping up and down excitedly. Keith watched the scene fondly from his seat.

Shiro walked around the ecstatic bunch, resting his prosthetic on Keith’s shoulder. “Looks like you guys are a team now, aren’t you?” he commented as he joined Keith in spectating the celebration.

Keith couldn’t hide the wide grin across his face. “Yeah… he agreed wholeheartedly. “A team...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the weekly saturday update! This chapter is a little short compared to the others, though. I started school last monday, and I already want to throw myself out the window ("senior year is fun," they said, "senior year is easy," they said). Because I'm doing full-IB (if any of you guys even know what that is), updates are gonna be a bit painful to do. That being said, I still want to finish this fic, since it's been so fun to write when I don't feel pressured.  
> Thank you guys for 250+ kudos by the way! You all are absolutely amazing. I wish the best luck to those in school currently and to those who will start school following labor day weekend.
> 
> \--  
> I made an avatar animal that's like the opposite of a griffin rip. But that's the team name now.  
> Also tipping my hat to all those who saw the legend of korra and pitch perfect references.


	10. Blood and Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from 100 to 0 real fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA WOW so I might've lowkey dropped this series way back in September after (I think?) my trip to Europe, and that's when I was first a senior.  
> Now I'm a senior getting ready for graduation and my IB exams. I think out of guilt I realized that I abandoned this series for so long because of school. Now school's almost over, so I guess back to writing.  
> Now back to the long awaited drama/angst.  
> Also, in case if you guys need a trigger warning, there is blood/violence (though not as disturbing as last time)

On the Saturday night before their debut pro-bending match. While Hunk, Lance and Keith were all undeniably strong benders, it took several hours of practice daily to learn to be in sync with one another. Pidge had designed “team-building” exercises that forced the team to train in the field outside of the warehouse.

 

While their practiced had first consisted of tripping over one anothers’ feet or accidentally intercepting each others’ attacks, the amount of fouls they committed decreased gradually. Even Shiro and Matt, who had little time to visit due to their busy schedules, were surprised by the amount of improvement they had.

 

The night before the match, Lance fidgeted, twiddling his thumbs as he waited for Keith to arrive. When the maskless firebender tapped on his window, Lance flinched, accidentally falling off his mattress.

 

Keith arched his eyebrows. “You okay, Lance?”

 

Lance, on the floor, rose his arm with a thumbs-up. “All good, Kogane,” he mumbled.

 

Lance had become quite used to be held like a bride by Keith, and accustomed to flying in the air at great heights. While the dazzling streets below never ceased in beauty, they were no longer as terrifying as they used to be this time around.

 

When the two landed on the roof of a building nearby the Probending Arena, Keith gently set Lance on the golden-tinted shingles before seating himself. Lance rested his head on Keith’s shoulder, his bangs intertwining with the firebender’s mullet.

 

“Hey, Lance?”

 

“What’s up, Red Lion?”

 

Keith blushed slightly as he pouted. “Is my nickname going to become a pet name now?”

 

Lance laughed. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just so cute; I can’t help it. But I can stop if you want me too.”

 

Keith, embarrassed looked away. “I don’t really mind,” he muttered, “I’m just...new to dating is all.”

 

“Well, I’m with you there.”

 

“Honestly, I never expected you to be the type. I thought you were the kind of guy to flirt around at every girl you see, at least, before I saw your pendant.”

 

Lance dramatically gasped as he lifted his head from Keith’s shoulder. “I’m offended! I have some decency, you know. Especially…” he mumbled the final words of his sentence.

 

“Hm? Could you repeat that?” Keith cupped his ears.

 

“I said, ‘especially to my boyfriend’!” Lance repeated loudly, though his face grew a shade darker in red.

 

He braced himself for Keith to throw in more teasing, but opened his eyes to see that a flush of rose was painted on Keith’s own cheeks and ears. He couldn’t help but laugh, pleased that he managed to make the infamous stone-face Keith flustered.

 

Keith, despite his sulking, said with relief, “I’m glad you’re still joking around. I was worried that the probending rounds tomorrow were getting to you.”

 

Lance’s smile faltered. “I mean, I’m definitely nervous about tomorrow, even though I feel confident that we’ll ace our way through. Honestly, there’s something else I’m more worried about.”

 

He withdrew the knife from the pouch on his belt, still wrapped in cloth. Holding the knife by the cloaked blade, he pointed the handle at Keith.

 

“This is the third night,” he reminded Keith, pointing with his head at the full moon that shined in the night sky. “And with this, our deal is over.” He tried to hide the wistfulness from his voice.

 

Keith arched his eyebrow. “Why are you making this sound like a break-up?”

 

Lance’s eyes widened, dumbfounded. “Break-up? Wait, what? I’m not breaking up with you!”

 

“But why does your face look like--y’know...that?”

 

“What face?” Lance tried to bluff.

 

Keith narrowed his eyes. “Don’t play stupid, Lance. My mother’s knife isn’t gonna make this the end of the world.”

 

“I know, but--”

 

“Lance, you know how I feel for you. I’m not going to ditch you just because I’ve got the knife now, and we already promised each other on that.”

 

Lance bit his lip. It wasn’t that he didn’t have faith in Keith. Far from it, actually. Now that Keith was so aware of his secrets, from his arranged marriage with Nyma to his blood bending, and still managed to love him, he had nothing to fear. Did he?

 

Shrugging off his thoughts, he returned with his classic Lance grin. “Hey,” he said, trying to to divert the conversation, “you’re nervous too, aren’t you?”

 

Keith snorted. “Of course I am. I don’t want to disappoint my 8 year old past self.”

 

“Then how about a good luck kiss?” Lance teased, pointing at his cheek.

 

The blush faded away from Keith’s face, only leaving an unimpressed look.

 

Lance scrunched his nose. “Hey! What’s wrong with asking for a good luck kiss?”

 

Keith rolled his eyes. “Don’t ask for a kiss on the cheek if you want good luck.” Squeezing Lance’s cheeks with one hand, he brought the waterbender’s face close. He slotted his lips onto Lance’s.

 

When he finally broke free from the kiss, Lance karate-chopped Keith in the head.

 

“Ow!” 

 

As the firebender rubbed the top of his head, Lance placed the knife into Keith’s free hand. 

 

“Here. As much of a sly fox you are, I feel a lot better,” he admitted, avoiding Keith’s gaze. “So I guess...thanks.”

  
  


\---

  
  


“H-holy shit…” Keith breathed as he yanked off his helmet. He stared at the nixie tubes consisting of the scoreboard, which illuminated in red characters: WINNER.

 

The audience around the stadium froze in a stunned silence. The Flying Lions, only a mere rookie pro-bending group, had completely  _ annihilated _ the long-time champion Komodo Rhinos, with Keith Kogane finishing with an incredible triple knock-out into the water below.

 

The moderator, slowly rising from his seat, grabbed his mic as he announced:

 

“ _ Ladies and gentlemen, the Flying Lions, one of the newest rookie groups of the league, have defeated last year’s champions, the Komodo Rhinos!” _

 

The audience, broken from their silence, erupted into an earth-tremoring cheer. Lance immediately turned to leap onto Keith, with Hunk lifting the both of them from the ground with his infamous bear-hug.

 

“ _ I can’t believe it! A grasshopper team wiping the nearly the entire tournament in a single sweep! Ladies and gentlemen, this is an incredible night we have witnessed here; the Flying Lions have officially defeated the undefeatable Komodo Rhinos! Looks like we won’t be seeing the Rhinos in the final round this year.” _

 

When the Flying Lions had received the letter stating that they would fight the previous years’ champions in the probending league, Keith slammed the letter on the table with one hand while using the other to pinch the bridge of his nose.

 

Hunk had looked beyond terrified, while Shiro, Matt and Pidge silently accepted the bitter defeat that was bound to happen. 

 

Except when Lance grabbed a chair, stood on it. _ “We’re already amazing _ ,” Lance had stated during his “pep talk”. “ _ And we move as one body. The Flying Lions will  _ not _ be defeated by a trio of mangy reptiles, and we’ll show Republic City what we can do! _ ”

 

Keith silently admitted that Lance’s optimism was contagious; he was like the leg of the team, supporting the entire body one step at a time. And perhaps that encouragement was what led Keith to find the confidence in himself to pull a  _ motherfucking knockout _ .

 

“Keith! Holy shit!” Lance was screaming as he shook Keith by the shoulders. “You did it! You son of a mullet, you did a knockout! A  _ knockout _ !”

 

“I-I can’t believe…” Keith’s face was still stiff with disbelief. “Did we seriously just--”

 

“I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but... Screw it, it’s too late! I’m already crying!” Hunk’s face was wet with tears as he stifled a fit of laughter. He began to wipe the tears from his cheeks.

 

Keith, returning to reality, felt his face crumple. He lowered his head, using his bangs to veil his face.

 

“Aw, Keith? Are you crying?” Lance prodded.

 

“Speak for yourself,” Keith laughed as his pointed to Lance’s own teary eyes. 

 

In the crowd, the Holts had leapt out of their seats; Matt excitedly hugged his sibling, whose limbs were flailing as she cheered. While their parents were restrained their excitement, that didn’t stop them from vigorously applauding for the Flying Lions.

 

From one of the stands around the ring, Keith caught sight of Shiro, who still had to contain himself because he was on duty. Despite his stiff crossed-arms pose, he looked down on Keith with pride gleaming from his eyes. WIth his eyes crinkling from glee, he silently mouthed the words:

 

_ “I’m proud of you _ .”

 

Keith, with a playful smirk, mouthed back, “ _ I know _ ” before turning back to celebrate with his team.

 

As they embraced a second time, Lance caught an unusually large group people dressed in blue amongst the crowd. Keith jerked his head to the side, trying to stop his voice from muffling into Lance’s shoulder.

 

“Uh...Lance? Lance, you can let go of me now.”

 

“Huh?” Lance flinched when Keith tapped his shoulder. “Oh, sorry,” he apologized distractedly as he unwound his arms from Keith. 

 

Lance’s eyes widened as he recognized who the men in the group were. And the men had locked eyes with him two. One of the members pointed his finger at Lance as he gestured to other Water Tribe men.

 

“I didn’t think they’d find me so fast…”

 

Keith intercepted into Lance’s point of view. “Lance?” He waved his hand in front of Lance’s eyes. “Are you okay? You’re looking kind of pale...and who found you?”

 

“Oh, I look pale? I guess you’re right! Maybe I should go lay down. Gonna go get some fresh air, y’know?” Lance hurriedly replied

 

“Wait, Lance, you didn’t answer all my questions. What--”

 

“See you later!” He bolted as leaped off the playing field. In a scooping motion, Lance summoned a spring of water from the pool below to carry him to the exit.

 

“Lance!” Keith followed after him, using his flames to boost after Lance.

 

Hunk had begun to run after his two friends, only to be stopped by the water beneath him. He exchanged a look of mixed panic and helplessness with Matt, Pidge and Hunk, who had been watching the scene from above.  

  
  
  


“Lance! Wait, slow down!” Keith grabbed Lance by the wrist, holding him back. The waterbender had raised out of the arena and into the streets in a complete frenzy.

 

Lance pulled his hand away from Keith’s grip, bringing it to his forehead as he clenched a clump of his hair. His breathing was shallow, and his face had definitely become shades duller.

 

“Lance, look at me.” Keith clasped his hands on Lance’s cheeks, gently bringing his face so that they could lock eyes. “What’s the hurry? Did something happen?”

 

Lance gulped a deep breath before whispering in unusual quietness, “I saw them.”

 

Keith frowned. “Saw who?”

 

“ _ Them _ . They’re going to take me away, Keith. I knew this was going to happen eventually, but I didn’t know they’d find me so soon! Keith, I--”

  
  


“Brother.”

 

Lance froze. Keith, with his arm guarding Lance, turned around to face a Water tribesman. While the man was more heavyset compared to Lance, he shared the same blue eyes, dark skin, brown hair…

 

Keith’s jaw gaped. “Brother?” He echoed.

 

The man continued to drill his gaze into Lance, as if Keith were transparent. “Brother, you must return home. When will you ever stop being such a  _ kid _ and just grow up? You’ve continued this foolishness for far too long. First you run away from home, and now you play this blasphemy? You’re lucky I found about all this before Father did.”

 

Lance flinched. 

 

Lance’s brother rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. “If you were going to build a new alias, at least choose a more creative name,  _ Lansa _ , and if you were going to stay hidden, then you shouldn’t have been stupid enough as to broadcast you and your teams’ names on the national radio and whatever stupid media.”

Keith flashed a bewildered look at Lance, who avoided his gaze.  _ Becoming probenders put Lance in danger? _ “Lance--”

 

“Come now, you’ve already caused more than enough embarrassment, even when we were kids,” Lonan interrupted. “You made your betrothed shed tears from loneliness,” he added.

 

Lance scoffed. “Don’t dick around, Lonan,” he spat, “I know Nyma, and she wouldn’t give a rat’s ass about me ditching her. You didn’t even tell her about what I am, and what I’ve done. I know Dad just wanted me to marry her so he can take the tribe’s problematic bloodbender and ship him across the globe.”

 

Lonan’s eyes widened before he narrowed his eyes at Keith. “So you must know about his...condition… don’t you?” he questioned.

 

Keith clenched his fist. “I do,” he answered slowly. 

 

“Then you’d know it’d be best to leave Lance with family.”

 

Keith narrowed his eyes. “I don’t have family,” he said flatly, “so I guess I wouldn’t know.”

 

Lonan scoffed. “Even more the reason why you have no right to interfere.”

 

Lance gently brushed past Keith as he glared as his brother. “Lonan, you’re walking on some crazy thin ice right now, so you’d best back off,” he warned scathingly.

 

“Come on, Lansa,” Lonan laughed. “We’re the sons of the great Chieftain Liwanu.” 

 

He gestured forward, in which four tribesmen came to his side.

 

“You know that it’s in our blood that we never ‘back off.’”

 

With a flick of a hand, the men lurched forward. Two had chucked two bolas, which swerved as they locked themselves onto Lance’s legs. The other two men, both waterbenders, swiftly summoned a pillar of water from the ocean below the outskirts of the arena. In the whip of an arm, they used the water’s force to slam the handicap Lance into the stoney floor. With a flick of the wrist, the water gathered into icy handcuffs as they froze Lance’s arms behind his back.

 

Lance grunted as his chin met the ground. “Ugh!”

 

“Lance!” In a surge of fury, Keith fired a barrage of flames at the two benders. He leapt in front of Lance, posing with his two fists before his face.

 

Keith narrowed his eyes at Lonan. “If you want him,” he rasped, “then you’re going to have to get through me, first.”

 

Lonan smirked, unfazed. “Feisty now, aren’t you?” He pointed at Keith with his eyes. “Get him.”

 

The four tribesmen, regaining their balance, prepared their battle stance. The two nonbenders stepped forward, winding their arms as they prepared to beat Keith with their clubs. The firebender ducked and dodged from the first swing and gripped onto the club. Taking advantage of the man’s bewilderment, Keith grunted as he swung the club and its wielder into the other tribesman, knocking both off of their feet.

 

The two waterbenders then followed; in a long-ranged attack, they bent streams of water towards Keith, turning them into lances of ice. Keith, as he jumped onto the two defeated water tribe members, spun mid-air, using the flames that were ignited on his feet to shatter the ice attack. When the benders used their remaining ice to propel themselves in Keith’s direction, Keith, drawing in his breath, blasted a roar of fire on top of them. The waterbenders, in shock, leapt away, losing their balance as they came tumbling onto the ground.

 

Like a cat, Keith gingerly landed on his toes. He raced back to his boyfriend, who was still struggling to the bolas that were binding his legs together.

 

With his index finger, Keith ignited a long yet thin ember, almost like the blade of a knife. “Hold still, Lance. I’m gonna get you out--” 

 

“Not so fast.”

 

Lonan appeared behind Keith. Clasping his fingers on the collar of Keith’s probending uniform, he yanked the firebender away from Lance and held him in the air. The cursed uniform was completely one-piece, making it impossible for Keith to slide out of it. Even the fire that Keith ignited as he flailed his arms were out of reach from Lonan. His knife was off of his uniform too; there was no way he could fight manually.

 

Keith froze when Lonan, who had frozen water around his fingers into claws, point one at the side of his neck.

 

Lance’s eyes widened. “Lonan, let him go,” he demanded.

 

Lonan’s claws began to prod deeper into Keith’s neck. “Not until you come back home with me,” he responded cooly.

 

“Lonan, quit blackmailing with your sick sense of humor. Leave Keith out of this. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, including you.”

 

Lonan remained expressionless. Keith gasped as he felt pain spike at his neck. From the corner of his eye, he saw a bead of blood form at the tip of Lonan’s claw.

 

“Lonan, get the fuck off of Keith! You’re hurting him!” Lance was yelling now, frantic. “I--I’ll go home! Just please...!”

 

Lance’s hands had been clasped on his head, his heart pulsing and breathing ragged. He had fallen on his knees. 

 

Keith gasped, “Lance, no! You’re not going home, not with him--” he cut off, his eyebrows furrowing as he glared at Lonan, who continued to dig his claws into Keith’s neck. 

 

_ Lance was offering what Lonan wanted for, so what is Lonan still trying to hurt me?  _ Keith pondered. The scene seemed so familiar, almost identical to that of the night when he, the Red Lion, was nearly killed by the Galra. Lance had a panic attack the same exact way, meaning that Lonan would only go this far to...  _ Fuck! _

 

“Lance!” Keith managed to shout. “Don’t lose your cool! Don’t let him trigger you! Lance--”

 

Lonan swung his head to face Keith, bewildered. “What?! How did you--” He choked at the final words of his sentence.

 

Keith grunted as his bottom hit the ground. When he looked up, he saw that Lonan was frozen in place, his face drained of color. Turning, he saw that Lance had his head bowed, but his short bangs failed to hide ice-blue, lifeless eyes.

 

Keith’s eyebrows furrowed. “It’s you…” he said cautiously. “Blood Lance…”

 

Lance gave the familiar, mocking smirk. “‘Blood Lance’...” he echoed, amused. “Sounds like you and ‘Lansa’ both suck at making names,” he said, “but hey, it’s got a sexy ring to it. And speaking of ring-”

 

Blood Lance swooped his arm downward, sending the previously levitated Lonan into the street pavement. Lonan groaned as he winced in pain within the gravel.

 

Blood Lance smiled. “Ring,” he said playfully, imitating that of a gong. “Oh, how great it is to be back.”

 

Despite the impact, Lonan rose to his feet, grunting as he pulled his body upright.

 

“So you’re still desperate to contain me,  _ Brother _ ?” Blood Lance had spat out the honorific mockingly. 

 

“Shut up, monster,” Lonan retorted. “You aren’t Lansa, and you have no right to call me that.”

 

“Bummer,” Blood Lance shrugged, “though it isn’t like your ‘Lansa’ saw you as much of a brother either.”

 

With a yell, Lonan summoned a stream of water from the ocean below the bridge, heaving it like a waterfall in Blood Lance’s direction. Despite Lonan’s immense strength in his physique and chi, Blood Lance confidently froze the mass of water in place.

 

With a swift gesture, Lance stretched his arm further, as if he had caught grasp of Lonan’s body, despite the distance between them. Lonan also recognized this, as he tried to struggle against the bloodbending.

 

“Lance! Stop!” Keith intercepted, latching onto Blood Lances’ arm. “Pull yourself together! You’ve done enough.”

 

“Quit it,” Blood Lance responded, his eyes gleaming with annoyance. “What’s the point? He may have heard you last time, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to hear you now, so long as I’m in control. Now back off, unless you want a replay of that death wish from before?”

 

“I wasn’t talking just to Lance,” Keith snapped as he tightened his grip. “I was talking to you, too, Blood.”

 

Blood Lance scoffed; releasing his grip from Lonan, the waterbender gasped as he collapsed onto the ground, heaving for air as the color returned to his face. He faced Keith once again.

 

With his arm raised, he caught trace of Keith’s chi. Keith gasped as he felt the familiar squeeze in his lungs, and felt himself being raised into the air. Blood Lance, from below, broke his cool persona, his face now distorted in rage.

 

“What do you know about  _ me _ ?” Blood Lance shouted. “About  _ us _ ? Don’t think that you’re high and mighty just because the weaker of us is so enamored by you, Kogane. You don’t understand what we’ve been through.”

 

Keith gasped as he managed to say slowly, “You were there when I confessed.”

 

“And?”

 

“I said that I knew that I didn’t understand.”

 

“Then you know that there’s nothing you can do.”

 

“There is: I said that I can and will try to love you too, Blood, because you are still Lance no matter what. 

 

He breathed in. “Now please, Lance, let me go.”

 

The icy hatred that had once blared from Lance’s eyes began to soften; he went quiet, as if he were thinking. Keith felt his lungs having more room to breath as Lance slowly began to release his grip.

 

Abruptly, Keith crashed onto the pavement. Shocked, he saw that Deputy Shiro had bended his cords onto each of Lance’s arms, restraining them. 

 

“Keith! Are you alright?” Shiro yelled from over his shoulder.

 

“S-Shiro!”

 

Keith watched in horror as Lonan joined Shiro, using his waterbending to freeze Lance’s feet in place. Blood Lance began to scream as he tried to break himself free.

 

“Shiro! Stop it!” Keith tried to force himself back onto his feet, but his body had reached its limit; the bloodbending had blocked the chi in most of his body, rendering him to merely stand onhis knees.

 

Shiro shook his head as he reeled his arms back, tightening the chords. “Keith! Stay back. Future chief Lonan and I are dealing with a bloodbender. It’s too dangerous for you to get close!”

 

“You don’t understand!” Shiro was always the most rational in their group, yet he was so unusually rash. Keith had never seen Shiro’s face so twisted in rage and revenge; he clearly treated the bloodbender not as the bubbly, friendly Lance, but as  _ someone else _ .

 

“Takashi, get your shit together. This is  _ Lance _ !”

 

Shiro, eyes widening, pulled back, as if coming to his senses. 

 

“Don’t listen to him, Deputy. This is my brother; I know what he’s capable of far more than this firebender of yours,” Lonan assured him. “My people have been searching for him in the past moon; it’s best to entrust this bloodbender into the hands of the Water Tribe--where he belongs.”

 

“I--” Shiro trailed. He flicked his wrists back, recoiling the metal wire back into his uniform.

 

Keith watched in silence as the metal on Shiro’s feet clinked against the stoney street. WHen Shiro towered over Lance, he whispered:

 

“I’m so sorry.”

 

With a swift movement, he used his fingers to nail the pressure points across Lance’s body, jabbing him in the neck and side.

 

Blood Lance, limp, fell from his consciousness, falling into Shiro’s chest. Lonan, approaching the two, released the particles of ice such that it became liquid once more. With gentleness, Shiro passed Lance into Lonan’s arms.

 

“You will take care of him, will you?” Shiro questioned.

 

“Of course,” Lonan promised. “I am Lansa’s eldest brother, after all. I’m sorry that he created all this mess. I will send good word to my Father about your service tonight, Deputy.”

 

“I’d prefer you not to, thanks.”

 

When Lonan and his men had finally escaped by automobile, Shiro returned to Keith. He offered a hand.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

A slap echoed as Keith’s hand made contact with Shiro’s face.

 

“You…” Keith said steadily, “After you carry me to my apartment,

 

You’re fucking dead to me.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kinda amazed that while I was gone for like half a year, I suddenly gained 100 some kudos, so much thanks to you guys for the continued support despite my lazy ass (as much as I've done it for this series, I still hate writing all the battle scenes to death).  
> Hopefully I can finish off the school year (and this fic) strong!


	11. Stick in the Mud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is gonna be a bit intense towards the end. If you already made it this far dealing with how I write what happens to bloodbending victims, then good for you, this isn't that bad...I think.
> 
> But the real question is, why did Shiro act like a dumbo before? And who the fuck is Lonan lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowee okay so I didn't expect myself to upload this so quickly, but I really got into the grove. I need to study for my IB exams again now so I won't be able to upload another chapter for the next two weeks unless I manage to squeeze some extra time in. So, here's a chapter to make up for that potential absence!
> 
> I got super deep in the angsty parts haha.

“Ugh!” Lance grunted as he was thrown onto the bed.

 

“You’ve gotten heavier,”  Lonan pointed out. ‘Though your arms are still sticks from a distance.”

 

It had been three days of practically nonstop travel to return to the Southern Water Tribe village, one day by vehicle and two by boat. For the entirety of the journey, he had been shackled such that a thick, rug cloth was enveloped around his body, wrapped in string as if he were a sheathed blade with no scabbard. While it was uncomfortable enough to be unable to scratch his nose while in his captive state, it was more unsettling how uncomfortably quiet the trip was.

 

In fact, Lonan was the only tribe member willing to speak to Lance, while others avoided Lance’s gaze. Even then, his older brother was the last person he wanted to speak with, making the silence even more deafening.

 

Lonan was the one who had carried Lance to the Tribe’s palace since no one else apparently had the balls to do it. The palace sat on several arrays of stairs, and towered over the glacier with winding spires; while the structure was meant to be an emblem of the tribe’s pride in its culture identity and freedom from its northern counterpart, the off-white structure only reminded Lance of a prison.

 

The room didn’t help, either. Most buildings around the village were created using ice, much like the igloos created a century ago; however, the South Water Tribe palace, one of the first modern infrastructure in the community, was created using similar building materials to those of cities like the capital. Lance’s room, which sat at the top of a high spire, was made from brick and cement--both matter than was completely unbendable with water-based chi.

 

No bending? No escape.

 

“So what, are you gonna untie me now?” Lance prodded, still bound as he lay on his bed. The bitterness he had towards his brother for threatening Keith and abducting himself had not ceased; it rose like bile at the back of his throat.

 

“Just chill for a second, Lansa,” Lonan responded. Now that the two were alone, he began to remove his formal image as future chieftain, speaking more casually. “I...actually wanted to give you a surprise.”

 

Lance narrowed his eyes. “I think I’ve had enough disappointing surprises from you to last a thousand years--”

 

“No, no, no,” Lonan interrupted. “I swear this one is going to be good.” As he opened the door behind him, a giant flurry of white raced towards Lance.

 

“Concha?!” Lance broke into a laugh as he squirmed like a silkworm, trying to dodge his polar dog’s affectionate yet slobbery kisses. “Hey there, girl! I haven’t seen you in months!”

 

Lonan chuckled as he began to untie the knots around Lance. “She’s been lonely ever since you’ve been gone.”

 

As Concha’s tongue began to lick Lance’s bangs upward, he pointed out curtly, “Just because you brought my buddy here doesn’t mean I’ll forgive you.”

 

“I didn’t expect to get an apology from you, anyway.”

“Wow. Sounds like you being Dad’s busybody really buffed you up into a heartless prick.”

 

“Hey--” Lonan rose after he finished untying the last knot. He placed his hands on his waist. “I’m not being a ‘heartless prick.’ I’m doing this because I care about the our tribe. Our people. Our _family_.”

 

“And ‘protection’ involves treating me like a criminal? I’m not convinced, Lonan.”

 

“Look, Lansa,” Lonan gave a long sigh, “Try to be reasonable. You and I both know that the political relations between us and up North are...rough. We can’t have our people falling apart now of all times because they don’t trust the chieftain or his family.”

 

“So what, is being the chieftain’s second-born the only reason I’m being treated like trash?”

 

“No, Brother. Being the chieftain’s second-born is the reason why you’ve managed to make it this far in this tribe unscathed,” Lonan retorted. “Believe it or not, Father has being working his ass off trying to calm ties between us and the rest of the tribe. The only reason why the people have given _you_ a chance is because we swore that you would not be a threat. You running away all the way to the capital? Now that made you look like a threat.”

 

Lance,as if trying to contain his boiling rage, turned away from Lonan, rubbing his wrists.

 

“Ha!” he mutter, “As if getting into an arranged marriage weren’t already shitty enough.”

 

“Lansa, you are the chieftain’s second son. It is your _duty_ to settle down and get married. All the women are too...scared...to wed with you, even if you do those embarrassing flirting attempts.”

 

Lance rolled his eyes before pointing them at Lonan. “Well, I only picked up those tips from the best.”

 

Lonan ignored his comment. “Be serious, Lansa. Quit being selfish. If you were to marry to one of high status in the North, not only will you give the people a sense of security, but you’ll also give the North and South a chance to make amends. You could be the _key_ to making the Water Nation even greater than ever, an honor higher than that of our Father!”

 

“But I don’t _want_ to be that key!” Lance protested. “I just want to live a normal life, free from what I’m expected to be and do by the last people I want to hear it from, free from the trapped life I lived before. I want to go _home._ ”

 

Lonan’s eyes widened, baffled. “But this is your home.”

 

“No, it’s not. Home is back in Republic City, back with Keith, before you decided to take me away.”

 

“Brother--”

 

“Don’t. Call. Me. That.” Lance hissed through clenched teeth. “Get out of my room.”

 

Lonan’s furrows between his eyebrows deepened; he recalled his encounter with Blood Lance:

 

_It isn’t like your “Lansa” saw you as much of a brother, either._

 

Lonan, in turn, balled his fists, his face boiling from the memory. For a brief moment, he squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to purge the image of Blood Lance out of his brain before letting his eyes fall upon Lance. Finally, he stormed to the door.

 

As he gripped the doorknob, he said over his shoulder, “By the way, you better get a good reign on _him_.”

 

Lance glared. “Do you think I can help it? He just comes out as he pleases, like another identity. I can’t just ‘get a good reign on him’ like a dog, dumbass.”

 

“Then forget about ever returning to your beloved city life and affair.”

 

“Affair?! What affair--”

 

The door slammed shut.

  


The incessant thudding of knuckles knocking on his apartment door forced a groggy Keith to rise from the floor.

 

While he still attended work at the Power Plant, he had certainly avoided visiting Bayard Enterprises, or just Hunk, Pidge, Matt and especially Shiro for the past two weeks. The experience he had seen with Lance being dragged away, and Shiro being such an _ass_ was too much for his emotional state; all he wanted to do now was be alone.

 

Sifting through the straw beer cans and clothing that lay on the floor, Keith finally made his way to the door.

 

 _Why would anyone come here on the weekend?_ Keith thought as he rubbed his eye. _It’s a Saturday. Unless…_

 

Quickening his pace, Keith skidded across the creaking wooden floor, racing to the door. Quickly, he fumbled unlatching the lock. When he opened the door, he yelled out:

 

“Lance?!”

 

“Woah!” Pidge leaped backward, dodging the swinging door.

 

Keith, eyes widening, lowered his gaze downward, locking eyes with Pidge. “Pidge?!”

 

The nonbender crossed their arms, pouting. They scrunched their nose, repulsed, before pinching it.

 

“You reek of alcohol.” Their sly comment came out nazily.

 

Keith avoided Pidge’s narrowed eyes. “No I don’t,” he muttered, scratching the back of his neck under his mullet.

 

He tried to block the view of the beer cans behind him with his body. Pidge, however, wasn’t convinced, and managed to catch a glimpse of the view. When they did, they glared at Keith, offended.

 

“Is that why you didn’t bother contacting us for two weeks? Because of _beer_?”

 

“N-no!” Keith protested. Over time, the telephone that was placed near his bed became annoying when its number of rings increased exponentially over the past two weeks. Irritated, he yanked out the chord that connected it to the outlet, silencing the phone completely.

 

“I just needed some time by myself, okay?”

 

Pidge unpinched their nose. “Keith, we’ve known each other since childhood. I know that you’re the type of guy who needs his personal space before getting ready to face the world. But this? This is crossing the line. This isn’t _healthy_.”

 

Keith turned away. “Well, I’m not the same fourteen-year-old you knew, Pidge. I know what I’m doing.”

 

“No, you don’t,” Pidge argued. “Not when your room looks like a flying bison lived here, and when you stink like soap and aftershave don’t exist.” Their voice became sharper with a skeptical edge. “Is all this because of Lance? You called out his name earlier.”

 

Keith, recalling the night that seemed so far away, clenched his teeth. His head began to pulse from the blend of stress and hangover. He massaged the bridge of his nose.

 

Pidge, with a sigh, pushed their glasses up. “Keith, just contact us every now and then, okay? I respect your personal privacy, but Matt and I can’t help but get worried when you stay cooped up for so long.”

 

Keith rose his hand and ruffled Pidge’s hair. Normally when he did that, they would swat at his hand with their tiny fists. This time, however, Pidge only lowered their head, as if comforted by the gesture.

 

“I’m sorry for worrying you,” Keith said gently.

 

“It’s fine! It’s just,” Pidge began with a sigh, “When you’re like this, I can’t help but get flashbacks from back then, when you’d just lock yourself up when you get those nightmares.”

 

“The ones about my mother?”

 

“Yes, those,” they replied hesitatingly. “But this time it’s for a different reason. Lance has stopped showing up--not that that’s a huge issue because your probending game is next month, so there’s time to practice.

 

But even then, Hunk has no clue where Lance is, either. All we know is that Shiro said that Lance ‘went back home’ and nothing more.”

 

Keith pursed his lips. “Well he’s not exactly wrong,” he replied curtly.

 

Pidge clenched the fists that hovered at their sides. “I understand if this is an issue that you guys have to settle among the three of you. That’s what I have to do when Matt and I got into fights,” they said.

 

“I don’t think what Shiro did is exactly the ‘forgivable’ type of fight.”

 

“But do you promise to talk it out with him? Or at least hear him out?”

 

“And why should I do that?”

 

Pidge tensed up. “I don’t know the details,” they confessed, “and even if I did, you’d be hearing it from the wrong person. But if Shiro did anything that you didn’t like, I’d assume he had a viable reason for it--”

 

“And that’s what I’m going to tell you.”

Keith and Pidge whipped their heads to see Shiro going up the wooden stairs to the apartment. The metal components on his uniform clinked with each step.

 

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you were too busy to come?”

 

Shiro scratched the back of his neck. “That was a lie,” he admitted with an airy laugh. “Your brother saw right through me.”

 

Pidge and Keith looked down below the balcony, where Matt, leaning against his automobile, waved. Pidge, grinning, waved back.

 

Shiro tapped them by the shoulder. “Pidge? Do you mind if I take a moment with Keith?”

 

“Sure! By all means. You dorks have fun.” Swerving behind Shiro, they made their way down the entrance staircase to join their brother.

 

The silence between Keith and Shiro was tense, almost as if an invisible icy breeze sliced between the two of them. After a weary sigh, Keith pressed himself against the door, shouldering it so the it opened all the way.

 

“Get in.”

 

Shiro removed his metal hat. As he stepped inside, he retracted the metal plates that enveloped his feet, exposing them against the wooden floor. “Sorry for the intrusion.”

  


Shiro, by his instinctive fatherly nature, immediately grabbed one of the shirts near him; he folded it neatly and placed it on the one open space on the table that wasn’t already covered with junk.

 

Keith raised an eyebrow. “You know you don’t have to do that, right? I don’t even know how old that shirt is.”

 

Shiro chuckled. “As horrified as I am at your hygiene, it still brings me back to when you and I lived together years ago.”

 

Keith couldn’t stop the wave of nostalgia coming in. He remembered that the gentleness that Shiro had was something he had always loved; however, this fond nostalgia was halted by the

bitterness that spike up in the back of his mind. He crossed his arms.

 

“So I supposed you owe me an explanation for letting the enemy kidnap Lance?”

 

“I do,” Shiro inhaled, as if bracing himself for what was to come. “You’ve heard of how I had once been captured by the Galra, haven’t you?”

 

“The Galra?” While Keith was under Shiro’s custody, there was a period when he was twelve when Shiro disappeared into thin air. While the Holts kindly became hosts for Keith, with Matt and especially Pidge keeping him safe, he couldn’t brush away the daunting fear that something had happened to his guardian.

 

Keith knew better than to prod Shiro on what happened when he returned; Shiro’s fresh scar that ran across his body and face and his stress-induced white lock of hair was more than enough to imply the unspeakable things that the deputy had been forced to go through.

 

“When I was on the case in finding you and Jieun, the team I was in found more and more clues indicating how she was involved,” Shiro started.

 

“So she _was_ a criminal?” Keith’s throat went dry as he croaked out the words.

 

“Oh, gods, no, she wasn’t,” Shiro quickly reassured him. “While she was absolutely silent when other members of the force were interrogating her, she always seemed willing to speak with me--perhaps because I had adopted you.

 

She confessed to me that while she was pregnant with you, she deliberately had herself exiled from the Galra so she could have you.”

 

Keith’s eyes widened. “If you knew, why didn’t you tell me?”

 

Shiro closed his eyes. “Because that would only be a fragment of the whole picture, and I was too cowardly to show you the whole truth.”

 

Keith lower his head. “Well, I’m an adult now, not the little kid you saved.”

 

Shiro smiled. “You were such a cute kid back then. When did you grow up so fast?” With his metal hand, he poked Keith on the forehead.

 

“Hm, I don’t know, maybe when my voice started going through puberty?” Keith replied in playful sarcasm, brushing Shiro’s hand away. “I can handle the truth,” he promised. “I’m ready.”

 

Shiro nodded. “As am I.” He allowed himself to drown into the memories of the past that he had concealed away for so long.

 

_“Get moving,” the Galra soldier said as he shoved Shiro forward. Shiro, his legs trembling, fell onto the ground._

 

_“Ugh!” Using his hands, he lifted himself upright. He couldn’t stop but cringe at his reflection. His dark circles were purplish under his dreary eyes, while his bangs were starting to show several strands of white--much to his demise of still being in his early twenties. Even then, he could remember how old he was, or how much time had passed; all he remembered was that he was captured at the age of nineteen, and his captivity seemed to last eons after._

 

_“I said, ‘get up!’” The Galra kicked Shiro at his side._

 

_Shiro, despite the bruising pain around his abdomen, forced himself back onto his feet. He continued to march forward behind his other captured comrades._

 

_When Jieun had confessed to him heavy details on what the Galra had done, including illegal acts ranging from chi-enhancement drugs to abusive bloodbending, as well as one of the deepest hideouts, Shiro had joined a special unit in infiltrating the base. The hideout was hidden deep in an island between the North Water tribe and Fire nation, concealed by layers of fog. If it had not been for Jieun’s specific instructions, the hideout would have remained a mystery for eternity._

 

_However, what Shiro and his team had not realized was that the island harbored incredibly strong benders who not only carried powerful subskills like metalbending and lightningbending, but carried extensive knowledge in chi-blocking. It was not long until all members of the special unit were paralyzed._

 

_The treatment had gotten even worse after that. Each member was locked away, imprisoned with little food or water, and bathed in silence and despair. At last, the prison doors were unlocked, though the prisoners were still shackled as they formed a line._

 

_As Shiro inched closer and closer to the end of the line, he felt his muscles tense as he heard cries coming from the platform on the top of a long flight of stone stairs. He felt a nervous sweat drip down his back as the cries became more audible._

 

_“N-no! Please! Y-You can’t! No!” Shiro’s eyes widened as he saw an immense breath of flame fire into the sky like that of a dragon._

 

_With a strangled cry, the bender’s fire began to die. Shiro could see the whites of the man’s eyes bulge as his veins popped out. Finally, the fire died completely. The bender’s eyes rolled back as he crashed onto the stone platform._

_“Take him away,” a hooded woman ordered, her voice scratchy and grotesque. As the Galra soldiers dragged the man away, she pointed with her boney finger:_

 

_“Bring him forward.”_

 

_Shiro felt his heart drop when he realized the finger had pointed at him. He felt the Galra behind him give a shove, dragging Shiro like a dog on his leash until the metalbender fell to his knees on the cold, stoney floor._

 

_The woman hummed. “So you must be Takashi Shirogane,” she mused, slowly circling the metalbender. Her yellowed eyes--a potential effect from drug abuse--bore holes into the back of Shiro’s head. “I was so elated to meet you, after hearing so much of you from your lovely comrades. I find it quite ironic that they were so eager to feed me information, despite being more seasoned officers in comparison to yourself.”_

 

_Shiro bared his teeth. “What did you do to them?” he growled._

 

_“Good question.” The wretched lady hacked a laugh. “Perhaps you would like to find out?”_

 

_Revealing a vein-ridden, dull brown hand from within her sleeve, the hooded woman whisked it to the side. She clenched it into a fist._

 

_Shiro choked at the sensation. while chi-blocking had made his body become numb, this was entirely different--not only was he paralyzed, but he was in anguishing pain. He let out a cry as he felt his head behind pulled backward, his eyes facing the clouded night sky.  The woman stepped closer; Shiro used every fiber of willpower in his being not to stare into her terrifying eyes._

 

_The woman chuckled. “How interesting,” she murmured. “You appear to be quite the fighter.”_

 

_She allowed a finger to graze over Shiro’s face-wound, which was still tender. He flinched from her touch, but was unable to jump back--not with his body trapped in the state it was._

 

_Shiro, through clenched teeth, forced out, “Don’t touch me, you old hag.”_

 

_The woman, amused, gave another dry laugh. “How surprising,” her scratchy voice commented, “You, dear, remind me of those dreaded parents who bore me--such blasted beasts dare name one such as I ‘Haggar.’”_

 

_She pointed at the deep gashes that ran through her eyes and down across her face, ending at her chin. “That is, after they discovered my true potential.”_

 

_Shiro forced himself to struggle from her bending, but felt himself losing to her strength._

 

_Haggar inched towards Shiro, whispering into his ear. “Water is within all life; it is the element that flows in the blood of all animals, including humans, of course. That is what puts bloodbenders such as I at a god-like status: we control all life.”_

 

_Shiro grit his teeth. “You are no god,” he spat, “and no person of mankind can tamper with life.”_

 

_“Ah, you say that, but do your words stand true?” She pointed at the firebender, who was still being dragged down the flights of stairs below. “For benders, is it not your bending that consists of who you are? And,” she continued with her bloody smirk, “what would happen if I had the power to take away one’s bending permanently?”_

 

_The metalbender, now completely unafraid, bore his dark eyes into her, his face boiling in silent fury._

 

_“So you already know the answer, do you?” Haggar, satisfied by his reaction, tapped her chin with her finger. “I have taken quite a liking in you, boy. I believe you would make a wonderful vessel, but not until after we tinker your body with...improvements.”_

 

_“Improvements?”_

 

_Haggar laughed. “Bending is not the only thing I can take away,” she sneered._

 

_With her clenched fist she whipped it in crescent shape, bringing her hand into the air. Shiro, in turn, jolted as his body was twisted, his right arm contorted. He howled in agony, gasping for breath as he tried to fight against the excruciating spikes of pain._

 

_“L-Let me go! Let me--! No!” Shiro begged as he writhed, his body being twisted and pulled like a ragdoll. He could feel his eyes water, but bit his teeth to prevent them from spilling; he began to taste the iron on his lips._

 

_Haggar’s eyes showed no pity. The corner of her lip only curled in amusement at his suffering._

 

_Finally, Haggar released her fist, dropping her hand to her side. Shiro exhaled as he felt himself being released from her grasp, falling forward. The black and white strands of hairs clung onto his forehead from his sweat._

 

_He could still feel the particles of earth vibrating around him, the subtle hum nearly comforted on his body. However, when he tried to pull himself up back onto his knees, he felt an odd, empty feeling in his arm._

 

_“W-what did you do to my arm?!” Shiro demanded. “I...I can’t feel it anymore!” Panic rose like bile in his throat. It was almost as if frostbite had taken hold of his arm; it was limp and lifeless, its skin turning into a sickening purplish-blue._

 

_“Consider this an act of mercy,” Haggar replied, tucking her hands back into her sleeves. “I could have barricaded your chi reserves and turned you into a nonbending slave like the others, but instead I blocked your blood vessels from reach only one part of you. An arm in exchange for your bending--that appears to be a fair deal, no?”_

 

_“Y-you bitch!”_

 

_The old witch gestured to the Galra in the back to take Shiro away. “Prepare to amputate his arm,” she instructed. “I will request to Lord Zarkon that I wish to use this prisoner for means of...experimentation.”_

  
_“I will see you again, Takashi Shirogane,” Haggar bid her scornful farewell. “Next we meet, you shall become my gladiator.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, y'all are treating me too well after I nearly ditched this fic for almost a year. I'm extremely grateful for reaching past 420 kudos (blaze it) and I'm really glad to hear the good feedback you guys have been commenting. So, cheers!
> 
> Also lowkey mad at myself because I wanted Hunk to play such a bigger role in this fic but it's so hARD with the position I'm in right now


	12. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Much needed talks among the characters. They really needed it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finished my ib exams (I think I totally f-bombed the chemistry portion, but other than that, it was smooth sailing!), and now I don't have to go to school anymore. I still have work though rip  
> I'm going to try really hard to finish the next chapter before I go off to Korea in June. When that happens I'll be out till July (and I sure hope I don't drop this series like the last time I left to a foreign country lol)  
> Anywho, enjoy~ I made sure Hunk had a relatively significant role in this chapter, especially because I unfortunately threw him on the curb for most of this series.

“Do you understand why I didn’t want you to fight the Galra on your own?” Shiro whispered. “You had no idea what kind of enemy you were up against, but I do. I couldn’t risk having you get killed, not if you put your and your mother’s lives in vain. I didn’t want a kid ever live another tragedy again, and especially not one in the hands of the Galra again. I couldn’t bear to see you become broken like me because of them.”

 

Shiro’s story rendered Keith speechless; while he knew that Shiro had gone through traumatic experiences when he disappeared for so long, he never realized the extent of pain he had to suffer in both the past and the present. After a pause, he released his strong bite on his lip before whispering, “So what happened after that?”

 

Shiro shook his head. “I’m...not sure, honestly. Everything after that night is all clouded. All I remember is the daily routine I went by: woken up to the usual chi-blocking, drugged up by pills and needles by noon.  It was  _ suffocating. _ ”

 

“So the chi-blocking you did before…”

 

“After having been chi-blocked so many times, it all became muscle memory.”

 

Keith frowned as the pieces fell to place. So many questions that had been in the dark for so many years were finally coming into light, so much that it was undeniably overwhelming for both himself and Shiro. Even so, with this amount of progress, there was still much that Keith needed to find out.

 

Hesitatingly, he asked, “What...did she do after that?”

 

“I don’t know exactly what Haggar did to me,” Shiro admitted, “but whatever she did, it was like...like she had complete control of my body. It was as if I were her puppet to toss around, with or without bending. 

 

At night, I had to fight other drugged prisoners who were just as brainwashed as I was. We would fight to the brink of death in front of all those Galra. Sometimes, my opponents...they would be some of the prisoners who had their bending stolen from them.”

 

Shiro brought his hand to his forehead, brushing away the beads of sweat that stuck on his bangs, “I can’t remember the details of most of the fights except for flashes of red and purple. I don’t know how many I killed, or even  _ who  _ I killed. Everything is just a giant blur with these horrible screams and monsters and Galra and--”

 

“Shiro.”

 

Keith gently grabbed Shiro’s hand away from his head. With both hands, he gave it a comforting squeeze. 

 

“If you don’t want to finish that’s okay--”

 

“No, I still have more to say,” Shiro interrupted. “I...just give me a sec.” He closed his eyes, breathing heavily as he tried to calm himself down.

 

Keith opened his mouth to protest, but closed it shut. He nodded. “Take your time. Patience yields focus.”

 

Shiro, despite wincing in mental agony, managed to squeeze in a chuckle. “So that stuck with you all these years, huh?” he teased.

 

“Well I can’t help it since you bore that into my brain every time I threw a temper,” Keith pointed out, shrugging.

 

After a deep breath, Shiro continued. 

 

“At some point, my memory became blank. I must have been mad; when I looked in that damn cracked mirror in my cell, I could see I was becoming like  _ them _ . My eyes became yellow from all the human experimentation, and I found myself becoming more and more bloodthirsty. I felt like I was becoming a part of this living nightmare. 

 

Eventually, I was rescued after the Police Force, led by Matt, helped narrow down my squad’s location. Even after rescue, after all these years, I still don’t feel like myself. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I see myself from when I was a prisoner, with those bloody yellow eyes and tattered rags. Every time I look at this arm, I think of all the times I couldn’t save the people who suffered around me--my team, the other test subjects, the prisoners--and I can’t help but think that I’m still the monster that I was then.”

 

“But you’re not--”

 

“That’s what I thought until that night. When I saw Lance, I didn’t see him, but  _ Haggar _ . As soon as I saw his bloodbending, I couldn’t help but see Haggar in his face; that’s why I was so quick to get rid of him.”

 

Keith pursed his lips; Shiro’s treatment towards Lance was undeniably a product from his own trauma. Even so…

 

“Shiro, I’m genuinely grateful that you entrusted me with your past; it must’ve been really hard to say, after all these years. But even if Haggar totally fucked you up, you turned your back on Lance, a friend of yours and mine even before you knew he was a bloodbender.”

 

“And that’s the thing.”

 

Shiro gently freed his hand from Keith’s grip. The firebender flinched when the deputy bowed his head, shocked that his guardian and senior would go to that extent for forgiveness.

 

“Keith, my hatred towards bloodbenders was completely one-sided; what happened in the past gives me no excuse for my actions in the present. It is my duty to protect the people of Republic, and that includes protecting people such as Lance. I owe you an apology, though I don’t expect to be forgiven so easily.” Shiro’s head remained lowered in shame. “I’m sorry.”

 

Keith sighed. “You really messed up back there, but I don’t want you to force yourself to carry on your guilt--not alone, at least.”

 

Shiro peeked at Keith, though his head was still bowed. “You’re... forgiving me?”

 

“Yeah, you big panda. Now lift your head up, you’re making this weird for me,” Keith laughed.

 

Leaning over the table, Keith embraced his arms around Shiro’s neck, comfortingly patting the metalbender’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he whispered.

 

Shiro buried his head into Keith’s nape. “Who’s the one who should be thanking who?”His laugh was muffled in Keith’s shoulder.

 

As the two pulled apart, Keith reeled back his finger to flick Shiro in the forehead.

 

“Ow!” Shiro jumped back, rubbing his head. He pouted. “What was that for, you rascal?”

 

“That was for Lance,” Keith responded matter-of-fact. “Even if I forgave you, the real person you should be apologizing to should be Lance.”

 

Shiro nodded his head. “True.” 

 

Clapping his hands, Shiro rose to his feet. “Now that we’ve been able to have a good talk, how about we start cleaning up this pigsty?”

 

“ _ Ughhhh _ ,” Keith groaned. “Do we have to start the cleaning now?”

 

“Yes, Keith,” Shiro replied with his classic “dad” voice. “C’mon. How about you hook your telephone up again? I’m sure Pidge will throw another fit if they can’t contact you again.”

 

Still groaning, Keith groggily rose from his seat cushion and approached the telephone placed on the floor. Kneeling, he grabbed the stray cord connected to the device and plugged it into the nearby outlet.

 

As soon as the connector met the outlet holes, the phone began to ring immediately, catching both Keith and Shiro off-guard. The two exchanged confused looks before Keith grabbed the phone.

 

“Uh...Hello?”

 

“Hello? Is this the Kogane household? I’m looking for Keith. It’s a  _ huge  _ emergency.” A familiar voice sounded through the speaker.

 

“Hunk, I live alone.”

 

“Keith? Is that you?” Keith could hear the earthbender sighing with relief on the other line. “Thank Raava! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to reach you today either.”

 

“Sorry, some...stuff...came up, but I’m good now. What’s the problem? You said there was an emergency?”

 

“You have to head to the warehouse. Are Pidge and Matt with you? And maybe Shiro?”

 

“Yeah, the Holts are outside. Shiro’s with me.” Upon hearing his name, the metalbender perked up, his eyebrows raised with both surprise and concern.

 

“Good, ‘cause you’re gonna need to bring them, too,” Hunk added urgently, “Everyone will need to hear about this.”

  
  
  
  


“‘...and the wedding between the son of Southern Water Tribe Cheiftain Liwanu, Lansa, and the niece of the Northern Water Tribe Chief Nashoba, Nyma, will occur in the following full moon. The event will take place in the Southern Water Tribe before the newlyweds depart to the North.’” Hunk finished. While his reading remained loud and clear, he couldn’t hide the slight trembling in his voice. "Both tribes positively await for the wedding, as it will serve a great leap towards peaceful partnership between the nations." He handed the newspaper to Keith.

 

In the photograph next to the column, there was an image of a couple clothed in traditional water tribe gear. Despite the photograph being colored in a monochromatic ashy brown, Keith could imagine the two garnered in blue. The woman beside the man had beautiful brown skin that contrasted with her silvery hair parted by glassy beads. Her locks fell to the sides of her face, which wore a delicate smile. Despite her beauty, Keith couldn’t stop the surging bitterness spike into his heart the moment his eyes fell on her betrothal necklace, which carried the floral design that Lance had carved previously.

 

Beside the woman was definitely Lance. Keith could feel his heart become strangled at the sight of Lance’s dead, cold eyes supported by dark eyebags. Despite the grin that was on his face, it was no secret up close that this smile was forced and fake.

 

“I saw this when I collected the papers for my uncle this morning. ‘Lansa’...that’s definitely Lance, isn’t it?” Hunk asked more assertively than usual. He pointed his finger at the Lance in the photograph.

 

Keith’s gloved hands began the crumple the edges of the newspaper. “Yeah,” he replied coldly, “That’s him, alright.” Despite masking his fury in his voice, his fingers began to singe the paper; smoke began to rise from his hands.

 

Pidge put their hand on Keith’s arm. “Calm down, Kogane,” they warned. 

 

“Why should I?” Keith spat. “I can’t stand to look at this bitch standing next to him for another second.”

 

“Keith, we have to be rational. This is an  _ arranged _ marriage; you have to consider the other party’s opinion, too. Do you really think there isn’t a possibility that this ‘Nyma’ could be just as upset as you and Lance?”

 

“No…” Keith replied sullenly. He sighed as he reluctantly extinguished the flames on his fingers before handing the slightly-burned article to Pidge.

 

“Now then,” they continued, pushing their glasses up their nose. “I believe we deserve some  _ insight  _ from the Broganes on this matter, don’t we, Hunk?”

 

“That’s right.” The earthbender nodded. “Lance is our friend, too, y’know,” he pointed out. “Lance already gave me his seal as his official best friend, after all.”

 

“Shiro, Keith, please,” Matt urged. “If there are any details that you think is best that we hear from Lance himself, don’t feel pressured to share that information. Still, we do deserve an explanation for all this, don’t we? We all want to support Lance’s best interest.”

 

Shiro and Keith exchanged an awkward glance between one another. 

 

“Shiro, what do you think?” Keith quietly asked.

 

“Why are you asking me?” Shiro raised his hands.

 

“I don’t know! Because you’re the leader? The 'dad' of our group?”

 

Shiro shook his head. “Keith, Lance trusts you more than anyone else in the whole world. I’m sure he’d want you to be the ‘leader’ in this decision.”

 

“Then…” Keith took a deep breath before turning to his friends. “I’m only going to tell you as much as what I think Lance would want you to know,” he admitted. “Are you guys gonna be okay with that?”

 

“Absolutely,” Hunk said. 

 

Pidge shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll find out eventually, anyway.”

 

Matt nodded. “Whatever information that will be beneficial in obtaining a general understanding of what’s going on is fine by me.”

 

“Alright,” Keith replied, “Here goes.”

  
  
  


“Okay, hold up a second,” Hunk interrupted, “So you’re telling me that Lance is the actual  _ son _ of the Southern Water Tribe chieftain?!”

 

“More or less, yeah,” Keith nodded. “He’s the second son, so he isn’t the heir. ‘Lonan’--or whoever his name was--is the oldest, and is the same guy who dragged Lance back home. Lance didn’t want to be forced into an arranged marriage, or be moved up to the Northern Water Tribe, so he ran away here.”

 

Pidge’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow, that’s surprising. I thought he’d bow down to any pretty lady he sees.”

 

Matt lightly whacked Pidge on the crown on their head. “Hey, now, that’s rude. Lance isn’t  _ that  _ shallow. If he agreed to it, he would have never come to Republic City in the first place--”

 

“Or do the oogies with Keith,” Pidge added slyly.

 

“Oogies--we did  _ not  _ do oogies!” Keith protested, his face turning red. “We just...well...oh, forget about it!”

 

Pidge snorted before switching topics. “Regardless, don’t you think that Lance’s family is a bit over-the-top with some of these restrictions? Who even does arranged marriages anymore? Talk about old-fashioned."

 

Matt ruffled his sibling’s hair. “Many do, unfortunately,” he replied. "Both tribes are very dedicated to their beliefs, so arranged marraiges aren't exactly uncommon. You just don’t know because Mom and Dad don’t believe or force us to bother with that kind of junk. We’re very lucky we don’t need to worry about it.” He snuck a glance at Shiro, who was too occupied speaking with Hunk and Keith to notice his longing gaze.

 

“If our own parents don’t believe in arranged marriages, then that marks that our generations are changing in mentality, right?” Pidge pointed out. “With each generation comes change; what believed in in the past doesn’t always correlate with what we believe now in the present. 

 

And since we’re bringing in the modern era,” they added with a smirk, “We probably have the freedom to break up that betrothal as we please.”

 

Hunk, Shiro, Matt, and Keith all stared with widened eyes.

 

“A-are you saying we have to  _ crash _ a wedding?” Hunk stuttered. “A real, political,  _ royal _ wedding?”

 

“Who says we can’t?” Pidge replied. “I bet my allowance that we totally could.”

 

“Wow, Holt,” Keith commented, impressed. “You always try to play it safe, but I never thought you had it in you!”

 

Pidge shrugged. “Eh, I try my best. I can’t be the safe kid all the time; If there's something worth taking the risk despite all odds, I'll take that chance. I'll do it for that idiot.”

 

“Now wait a second,” Matt intervened. “We can’t think about this too rashly. You guys have to realize that if we mess up, the media and both tribes will be on our tails--”

 

“And that’s why we need a proper plan,” Shiro finished confidently, looking at Matt. 

 

“But Shiro--”

 

“Matthew, we’re going to need all the help we can get if we’re going to rescue Lance. We need both the brawns--” he pointed his eyes at Keith and Hunk, “and the brains,” he moved his gaze at Pidge and then Matt. “Can you trust us? Trust  _ me _ ?”

 

Matt, after a pause, finally released a defeated sigh. He returned Shiro’s smile. “You know I trust you, Takashi.”

 

“Thank you.” With a nod, Shiro turned to the rest of the group. “Alright, team, as I mentioned before, we need to have a well-executed plan if we want to have any chance of finding and bringing back Lance. First, we need a way to get to the Southern Water Tribe.”

 

“I can ask Dad to let us board one of the trade ships!” Pidge piped up. “If we take that route, it’ll take three days, tops.”

 

“Do you have anything faster?” Keith asked.

 

"F-faster?" Hunk stuttered as he clutched his stomach, pale at the thought. "Is that even possible?"

 

“Anything faster than a giant, turbine-powered iron ship that’s more ice-resistant than a jet? When you get the money, please do tell me, Kogane,” Pidge retorted.

 

“Well then,” Keith replied, “Boat it is.’

  
  
  
  


 

“Hunk, are you alright?” Keith approached the earthbender.

 

Hunk was leaning over the railing of the ship, his arms dangling overboard. While the journey to the south was half-way complete, Hunk was the only passenger who wasn’t adjusted to the slow bobbing of the ship on the waves.

 

“I...I think I’ll be alright if I keep getting some fresh air,” Hunk replied, weakly hauling himself off of the railing. “The cold helps clear up my head a bit.” He was dressed in a thick, greenish-gold jacket lined with brown fur.

 

“That’s good.” Keith handed the two tablets in the palm of one hand, and a glass of water in the other. “Here. Matt told you to talk these. They’ll help you deal with the motion sickness a little better.”

 

“Thanks, man.” With a swift gulp, he easily swallowed down the tablets and water effortlessly. Afterwards, he leaned against the railing, gazing upon the nighttime sea.The stray strands of his headband flowed along with the current of the wind.

 

“Hey, Hunk?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Hunk isn’t your real name, is it?”

 

Hunk paused for a moment, as if caught by surprise by the question, before breaking out into a hearty laughter at Keith’s worried yet confused look. 

 

“Don’t worry, man, you’re right,” he reassured, trying to calm his laughter. “Hunk is just a nickname! When I was born I was just a giant boulder of a baby, so they called me Hunk for short.”

 

“What’s your real name, then?”

 

“Tsuyoshi,” Hunk replied, “In general, it just means ‘strong’ and ‘righteous’. It's a bit embarrassing.”

 

“The name really suits you,” Keith commented. Hunk was a man who was both big in size and heart; he was well-deserving of his name.

 

“Are you kidding?” Hunk chuckled again, though his laughter died when he saw Keith’s confused expression. “Oh wait, you weren’t kidding, were you.”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Well, Keith, I’m quite flattered,” Hunk scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. “I always thought my name was just an exaggeration of me, but I’m glad I’m somewhat living up to it. But why all the questions? I’m a little surprised, no offense or anything.”

 

Keith hummed. “I just felt like I haven’t been able to talk to you that much. Pidge, Matt and Shiro have always been a part of my life ever since I was a kid, and Lance is…” he began to blush as he mumbled, “m-my boyfriend, and--”

 

“You’re worried that I’m feeling left out, right?”

 

Keith hesitated before replying, “Yeah.” He awkwardly stuff his gloved hands into his red jacket pockets.

 

“Do you want me to say the whole truth, or sugarcoat?”

 

“I don’t have a big sweet tooth anyway, so hit me with all you’ve got,” the firebender reassured.

 

“You’re not wrong when you say I feel out of place,” Hunk admitted slowly, still facing the ocean. “If you think of it as a machine, I’m like that one oddball screw in it. Or maybe I’m that weird durian in a fruit cake. Everyone knows everyone, but I sometimes feel like I hardly know anyone. Even Lance.”

 

Keith hummed. He could easily empathize with Hunk on that thought; it was excruciating to be sheltered from answers about his mother and Shiro, when the rest of the police force--and most likely the Galra--knew the truth. 

 

“Lance has always been that light that wards off all my thoughts, y’know? I’ve never been able to metalbend in my whole life, and sometimes that alone feels like I’m burdening my family or even Bayard Enterprises. But despite that, Lance always had my back, and he supported ‘ol me.”

 

“He’s just that type of guy, isn’t he?” Keith laughed, reminiscing when Lance had so easily accepted his dark past. "I know the feeling."

 

“I wish I could have been a better friend to him. He’s always been a true bro to me, and I didn’t realize how much I haven’t been able to do until after Lance disappeared. I want Lance to know that I accept him wholeheartedly, whether he’s a chieftain's son or not. I think I... failed to get that message through on my part.” His sigh left puffs of air that rose in wisps into the sky.

 

“To tell you the truth,” Keith admitted, “Shiro and I both found out about Lance and his past by accident. He hadn’t planned to tell any of us, including both you and me.”

 

Hunk’s face fell. “Does that mean he didn’t trust any of us?”

 

“Oh God no, that’s not what I meant,” Keith quickly interjected. “What I meant to say was, Lance wasn’t really ready to tell any of us, and it was just by fate Shiro and I got involved. I’m sure Lance knew he could trust us, but just didn’t know how to go about it. But I think...if he could, he would definitely tell you, no doubt. And in due time, I think he actually will.”

 

“You really think so?”

 

“I _know_ so.”

 

Hunk hummed, diverting his gaze from the sea to Keith. He held out his fist. “Thanks, man.”

 

Keith laughed before bumping his own knuckles against Hunk’s fist. “Anytime, though it’s best you probably hear the rest of all this from the in-flesh Lance  in the future.”

 

“Speaking of which,” Hunk trailed, curious, “So I hear that you and Lance are dating? And to think you guys were like frenemies when you first met.”

 

“Frenemies?”

 

“Friends and enemies. Rivals. Always being neck to neck and all. I’d say you guys have gotten along much better compared to when you first met!” Hunk grinned. Both Keith and Hunk couldn’t help but think back to when the firebender nearly ran Lance over with his motorbike.

 

“I’m glad that everyone’s coming to go get Lance back. Going as a team is so much better than going alone, that’s for sure,” the earthbender said, crossing his arms. His eyes glittered as they reflected against the moonlight.

 

“I’d probably get my ass handed to me if I raided the Southern Water Tribe by myself,” Keith commented.

 

Hunk let out an airy laugh. “Same here. I bet we all would’ve been screwed if we went alone.”

 

Keith joined Hunk, leaning against the railing as he gazed upon the wallowing waters below the deck. After a moment’s pause, Keith asked quietly:

  
  


“Do you...think Lance willingly gave Nyma that betrothal pendant?”

 

“Of course not,” Hunk responded automatically. “Where in all that is good did you even get the idea?”

 

“I-I don’t know, the thought just came up, I guess,” Keith shrugged. “As much as I wanted to hate her, that Nyma, she’s...everything I’m not. She’s really pretty. She’s a waterbender. She's rich, royal and.. a girl.”

 

“And you think all that is gonna tempt Lance to stray from you?” Hunk questioned.

 

Keith remained silent, only letting his eyes get lost in the ocean waves.

 

“Do you remember the  _ look _ in Lance’s eyes?” Hunk asked. “Lance had always talked about keeping up with his beauty sleep, but he honestly looks so sleep-deprived in that photo. The photo does no justice to Lance’s real smile, and you and I both know that. Do you really think he honestly wanted to marry this girl if he’s so transparent to the both of us?”

 

Keith closed his eyes, recalling a flood of memories of all the times he and Lance had been together.

 

When they first met, when Keith and Lance quarreled in the middle of the street.

 

When they were forcefully introduced to one another.

 

When Keith had rescued Lance from the Galra (twice, that reckless idiot).

 

When Keith had saved Lance from the exploding motorcycle, and Lance had saved Keith from the bruising in his wound.

 

The days when the two went shopping together, the nights the two ate together. The times when they were together, with or without Keith’s mask.

 

When Lance had accepted Keith for who his was, from his dreaded past to his cheapass powerplant job to his identity as the Red Lion.

 

When Keith had accepted Lance as a bloodbender who was terrified of even those close to him.

 

Every time the two embraced, every time the two kissed. Even those fleeting times with Blood Lance.

 

Keith pulled out his knife, slowly unveiling the dagger such that the dark, midnight blade gleamed in the starlight. He gently traced the metal with his finger, recalling the vows he had exchanged with his love, his moon and his stars.

 

“You’re right, Hunk. I’d fight the world, even the universe, to be with Lance again, no matter what life we’re in. I believe in him.”

 

Hunk grinned as he patted Keith on the back. “That’s the spirit, buddy. That’s true love, right there.” Heaving a relaxed sigh as he stretched his arms upward towards the night sky, Hunk said, “I’m really glad that Lance and I got to meet you, Keith.”

 

Keith chuckled. “Me, too...buddy.” 

 

“So...are we done talking?”

 

“I think so,” Keith responded thoughtfully. “Why?”

 

“I think I’m going to hurl again,” Hunk said weakly, his hand muffling his mouth.

  
“HUNK.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for adjusting to my awkward uploading schedule and for all the kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> Dear god. There are probably spelling errors and whatnot and honestly, this was going to be just a personal project on microsoft word until my squad's mom sexualinnewendoswas (please follow her on tumblr) like "nope you're gonna upload this and i'm gonna send you an invite). So here I am.  
> Special thanks to my personal squad (and especially the squad space dad scorpionyx9621 (that's his tumblr please follow him) for encouraging me to write/post this.  
> Scorpionyx9621 will especially be helping write the angsty parts since I'm no good at it  
> My tumblr is the same as my ao3 user (@crescentdescent)


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